Arthur Russell Youngberg

Mr. Arthur Russell Youngberg, 79, a resident of the N. C. State Veterans Retirement Home in Black Mountain, NC, died peacefully on July 1, 2015. He was born in Jamaica, New York, a middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens on December 25, 1935 to Edwin Jerome and Florence Slamm Youngberg. He was the younger of two boys. He attended public school in New York and was a member of his high school rifle team which won the National NRA Junior Championship in 1952 and 1953. After high school he joined the United States Marine Corps where he rose to the rank of Sergeant and earned the Rifle Marksmanship Badge of Expert Rifleman. Upon completion of his service in January 1962, he studied at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn where he earned a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. One of his favorite projects during his career was the work he did with Pratt & Whitney on their JT8D turbo engine, introduced in February 1963 with the inaugural flight of Boeing's 727. When he lived in Mocksville he was a member of First United Methodist Church where he would often help teach Sunday School or keep the nursery. Mr. Youngberg worked as an engineer at Ingersoll-Rand from 1969 to 1985. In retirement he enjoyed listening to his large collection of classical music recordings, watching documentaries and sports, and keeping his family updated on all the quirky things he'd find in the newspapers and magazines. He was always on the lookout for something witty. He was a wonderful father, grandfather, husband, brother, son and a gentle soul. Surviving are his wife, Phyllis L. Youngberg of Givens Estates in Asheville, NC; two daughters, Traci Wood and husband Russ of Alpharetta, GA and Terri Queen and husband David of Asheville, NC and one grandson Russell A. Wood IV of Alpharetta, GA. A private memorial service will be held July 8, 2015 at the NC State Veterans Cemetery, Black Mountain, NC. The family asks that memorials be considered to: Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256, woundedwarriorproject.org or the National Humane Society, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 or your local Humane Society. Groce Funeral Home on Patton Ave. is assisting the family.