Dr. I. James Young loved science and nature as much as he did religion.
When he wasn’t caring for his patients, he was discussing theology or tending to his tree farm.
“He was always trying to incorporate nature, science and God all into one,” said his son Jeffrey.
Dr. Young, 76, of Long Grove, a neurologist, died Thursday, Dec. 8, of prostate cancer at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.
Born in 1929 in Chicago, Dr. Young would conduct chemistry experiments in the basement of his home. Sometimes they would backfire.
“He nearly exploded the basement,” said daughter Ann Storm. “He was a scientist from the word go.”
Dr. Young met his wife, Helen, while both were attending New Trier High School in Winnetka.
“He took me to the junior prom,” Helen said.
They dated for eight years before marrying in 1953.
“Both of us thought we had a special marriage made in heaven,” she said.
During the 1960s, Dr. Young began acquiring land in Long Grove, eventually amassing 16 acres. He built a home on a 3-acre plot and created a tree farm on the remaining land. He spent countless hours thinning out buckthorn trees, which can become invasive, and replacing them with oak, hickory, red maple and cherry trees.
“Most men at their middle-age crisis buy a sports car,” said his daughter. “My dad bought a John Deere.”Dr. Young earned his bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in Indiana and his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
He had a thirst for knowledge and racked up a number of additional degrees. He held a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a master’s degree in pharmacology and a doctorate in physiology, both from the University of Illinois Graduate School.
Dr. Young authored more than 50 publications and gave many lectures on brain electrical activity mapping, neuropathology, Alzheimer’s disease and other topics.
“He was a man of great learning,” said Charles Meyer, professor emeritus at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein.
Once a month, Meyer would go to Dr. Young’s house and the men would discuss theology and science. They talked about the evolution of humans and their brains or about philosophy.
Dr. Young was a parish deacon at St. Mary’s Church in Buffalo Grove for 25 years.
Dr. Young enjoyed sharing his knowledge. He would delight his children and grandchildren’s classmates by bringing in brains. When he took his sons fishing, he would illustrate the animal’s physiology while gutting and cleaning it.
That kind of detail piqued his son’s interest.
“It lead me to become an ophthalmologist,” he said.
Dr. Young had been chairman of the Long Grove Planning Commission and of the Long Grove Ecology Subcommittee. He was active in Physicians for Social Responsibility, Amnesty International, St. Mary’s Peace and Justice Committee and the Northwest Community Hospital Task Force Committee on Legal Counsel.
In addition to his wife, son and daughter, Dr. Young is survived by another daughter, Mary Konopka; another son, James; and 11 grandchildren.
Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 10 N. Buffalo Grove Rd., Buffalo Grove.
