LYNDON, Kan. – Toby James Young, 80, passed away on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at his home in Lyndon, Kan. He was born July 7, 1944, being delivered by his maternal grandmother on the family farm near Bagley, Iowa, the son of Richard and Lucille (Pedersen) Young.
Toby grew up on the farm until the family moved to Des Moines, Iowa. He left home and rode his motorcycle to California. He traveled, and ended up in Lyndon in 1975, where he has lived ever since.
Toby worked for the city of Lyndon maintenance department for several years. His life was in construction where he was a truck driver, heavy equipment operator and sheet metal worker.
If it had an engine, Toby had an interest in it, and his motorcycle and lawn mower had an engine.
While in Lyndon, he helped Santa Claus by being the city’s Santa Claus for more than 26 years. He was a natural, with his own long beard and that twinkle in his eye.
Toby was united in marriage to Mary Marzolf, April 28, 1973, in Las Vegas, Nev. Their honeymoon was a 3,800-mile motorcycle ride through Yellowstone and the northern Midwest.
Toby was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Lucille; and brother, Ed Young.
Toby is survived by his wife, Mary, of 51 years; two sons, Dennis Johnston, of Arizona, and David Ortiz, Phoenix, Ariz.; two daughters, Carmel Young and her husband, Paul, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Nikki Schmitt and her husband, Darin, Lyndon; sister, Dixie Engstrom and husband, Donald, Des Moines; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and other relatives and friends.
A celebration of life will be 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 7, his birthday, at Feltner Funeral Chapel, Lyndon.
Memorial contributions can be made to Helping Hands Humane Society, and sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS 66451. Condolences can be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.
