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Thank you to all who attended the Celebration of Life for Willie J. Young, Sr. Please utilize the link below to access the event powerpoint.

Remembering Willie Young, Sr.

Willie Young, Sr. was a Buckeye legend, a trusted friend, advisor to many and an advocate for all Ohio State students. Having been with the university since 1990, Willie leaves a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Pay tribute to Willie's legacy by sharing your favorite memories, photos and nickname with us.

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Willie was a great coworker, easy to work with, and he and his staff were always very helpful and ready to collaborate with us! My favorite memory is being on the same team with him during two trivia competitions. We won first place one year, and second the next one! His family is in my thoughts and prayers.

He was always Mr. Young to me because he refused to call me by my first name. I was blessed to have Mr. Young as an advisor for off-campus issues when I was the dean of the Ohio State Mansfield campus. Best piece of advice he gave me: "College students are college students, no matter where they go to school. And they'll treat you the way you treat them." Never one to want to be in the spotlight, yet he was always the person everyone mentioned if you wanted to know something. My fondest memories of Mr. Young, are from Buckeye football games. He had very nice seats down low in the section we were in, while mine were on the high side, shall we say. We would chat for a while before the game, and when I got up to go, with a twinkle in his eye, he would say, "have a nice climb, Dr. G."

When Willie learned how I was minoring in African American studies he didn’t hesitate to talk to me for hours about it. He gave me a tour of all his office trinkets, including one of the original copies of the OJ Simpson trial verdict, which he knew I was interested in! Always a kind face, willing to talk to you about anything and a person who made me feel like what I wanted to do with my life was important.

My first semester of college, I worked at the Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services where Willie was Director. I'd never met anyone so invested in knowing you as an individual. Who else could remember someone's name, high school they went to, AND rattle off trivia facts faster than I could Google them??

During one shift, Willie called the office and, for some unknown reason, asked for me (specifically) to meet him outside. In what sounded like an urgent request turned out to be someone completely confused on how to connect his phone to his car's bluetooth speakers! Willie was full of compassion, love, humility, and had even called me to wish me a Merry Christmas after I'd left the office. He was a true light at Ohio State whose imprint will last at our school and with our students.

I had the pleasure of knowing Willie for over 20 years. I will miss his silly nicknames, and his parenting advice. He was one of a kind!

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