“He’s always given back to the community in that form, putting ‘Christ’ back into Christmas,” Hinkel said. “We’ve had numerous families who have brought their children. Those children are now bringing their children back to our scenes every year.”
The Nativity has been known throughout the Tri-State area as a Christmas tradition since 1948 and includes life-size wax figures sculpted by Young, plus live donkeys, sheep, and goats.
Young initially displayed a Nativity scene in front of Fairfield City Hall, but moved it to the Hamilton funeral home in 1979, Hinkel said.
Paul Young Jr. said his father was well-suited to his profession.
“He liked helping people through times of need and hardship,” he said. “He was a very caring person.”
Young, who was born in Cincinnati, was a lieutenant with the U.S. Army during World War II, a medic in the Battle of the Bulge, the first in a small group of soldiers at the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp and among the first cars to free occupied Paris.
In 1945, he received the rare honor of a battlefield commission while serving in Germany. He was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Meritorious Service Unit Award, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, two Silver Stars, three Bronze Service Stars, and the Good Conduct Medal.
Young married his high school sweetheart, Marian Mack, in 1946 and in 1948, he opened Paul R. Young Funeral Home in Mt. Healthy.
He added funeral homes in Hamilton in 1963 and Oxford in 2009.
Young was “the most compassionate person that there was,” Hinkel said.
“He was always wanting to be a giver instead of a taker,” he said.
Young Jr. described his father as a worker who “wasn’t afraid to doing anything.”
“When he built the funeral home, instead of hiring work (to get) done, he did it personally,” he said.
Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Paul R. Young Funeral Home, 7345 Hamilton Ave., Mt. Healthy. Funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday.
About the Author
