GILFORD, N.H. — Lisa Maxine Small Young, beloved wife of Richard Mark Young and devoted mother of Matthew Frederick, Mark George and Michele Ciera Helen, lost her 12-year battle with breast cancer on May 11, 2014, 19 days after her 54th birthday.
Matthew is a junior at Gilford High School, Mark is a freshman and Michele is an eighth-grader at the Gilford Middle School.
After being diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2002, Lisa faced her illness with a quiet force that never quit, strength in the face of great odds and an ability to keep fighting after most people would have given up.
Born in Biddeford Pool, Maine to Frederick and Leslye Small in 1960, Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Southern Maine.
With her friend, nurse Lisa Richard Donat, and using her RN credentials, Lisa worked as a nurse and traveled throughout the United States in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, California, Washington, Nevada, Alaska and Minnesota. Accompanied by Lisa Donat, she also traveled throughout Europe and New Zealand.
Lisa long enjoyed the out-of-doors and many of her happiest times were spent camping with friends and family in Alaska, New Mexico, Utah, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
While working in Alaska for the Indian Health Service, she met fellow nurse Richard Young. They were married on Aug. 6, 1995 at her parent’s home by the sea at Biddeford Pool, Maine. Richard and Lisa moved from New Mexico to Gilford in 2001.
Being active in her community, Lisa served on the board of directors of the Gunstock Nordic Association since 2010. She had been president of the association for the past two years ”“ responsible in large part for promoting the sport of Nordic skiing among the youth of the Lakes Region. She was an active member of Temple B’Nai Israel in Laconia and had been an instructor in the religious school of the Temple. Lisa became known for her special qualities: her infectious sense of humor, her loyal and generous friendships, her gift for creating a happy atmosphere, her love of family and friends. She was always anxious to do for others.
Besides her husband and three children, Lisa Maxine Small Young is survived by: her mother, Leslye Small; her sister, Pamela Small Oliver and her husband Parè and their daughter Elyse, all of Biddeford Pool, Maine; and brother, Michael and his wife Jodie and their daughters Megan and Jordan, all of Madison, Conn.
Her in-laws include: mother-in-law, Biloine W. Young of St. Paul, Minn.; brothers-in-law, Robin Young of Wayne, Pa. and Benjamin Young of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and sister-in-law, Priscilla Young of Buffalo, N.Y.
Memorial donations in Lisa’s memory may be made to the Gunstock Nordic Association, P.O. Box 1307, Laconia, NH 03247; or to Temple B’Nai Israel, 210 Court St., Laconia, NH 03246.
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