Fred E. Young, 82, of Roscommon, Mich., formerly of Niles, died Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 at Mercy Hospital in Grayling.

He was born June 13, 1928 in Niles, the son of Harry and Edna (Shoup) Young. He was a 1946 graduate of Niles High School where many lifelong friendships were made and fondly kept through the years.

He married Betty Miller Nov. 12, 1949 in Niles, where they farmed until moving to Lansing in 1955 where Fred began working with Aerovent Agricultural as a salesman working his way up to vice president of international sales. He left Aerovent in 1976 taking his broad agricultural knowledge to farms in the Upper Peninsula.

Fred had assisted in the Upper Peninsula potato harvest since 1946 and in 1972 purchased a home in Newberry where extended vacations were spent especially at harvest time. Fred was a hard-working entrepreneur becoming a real estate agent dealing in farmland in 1979 and purchasing Bauer Manufacturing in 1987 producing high-end bird feeders that were sold nationally. A skilled woodworker, he also started Youngwood, a furniture restoration business in 1993.

Following Betty’s death on July 3, 2002, he moved to the Newberry home until 2005 when he moved to Roscommon. His love of the land included woods and streams where you would find him hunting or fishing when he found time. His first love and source of joy however was his family whom he enjoyed spending time with especially in his “retirement” years.

He was a member of the Lions Club in the U.P., the Elks Club in Lansing, and an honored lifetime member of the Republican Party. While in Lansing he was a member of the Presbyterian Church and was a member of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church of the North in Roscommon.

In addition to his parents and his wife, Fred was also preceded in death by brothers, Loren and Bob, and a sister, Virginia Mooney.  Surviving are two children, Christina Young of Roscommon and Robert Young of Appleton, Wis.; three grandchildren, Katherine, Anna and Jack; two sisters, Dorothy Knox of Scottsdale, Ariz. and Helen Zabel of Edina, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends at Walsh Funeral Home in Roscommon 4 to 7 p.m. today and at Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles 11 a.m. Wednesday until funeral services at noon officiated by Fred’s brother-in-law, the Rev. Henry Miller.

Burial will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd United Methodist Church of the North, 149 West Robinson Lake Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653.