SAPULPA - A funeral is planned today for former state Sen. John W. Young, a Sapulpa lawyer who served in the state Senate for more than two decades. Young represented parts of Creek, Okfuskee and Lincoln counties from 1964 to 1986.

He died Saturday at age 85. Young was elected to the state Senate as a Democrat in 1964. He founded a ministry for young women that is now known as Freedom House.

Young is survived by his wife, three sons and three brothers. Services are 10 a.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Sapulpa.

John Wallace Young was born on November 25, 1923, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The son of Glen Olen Young and Thora Kate (Shiflet) Young. He received his undergraduate degree from Tulsa University in 1946 and his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1950, where he served as the President of the Student Senate; and John Young and his older brothers, Glenn and David, were the third generation of attorneys in his family. They joined their father in the firm of Young, Young, and Young. One of his sons and one of his grandsons also became attorneys. John Young practiced law for over 58 years. He was a member of the American Bar Association, Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association, Creek County Bar Association, and Tulsa County Bar Association; and John Young served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was also a businessman, rancher, oil producer, and real estate developer.

Senator Young was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1964 and served until 1986; and Senator John Young's 22-year tenure in the Oklahoma State Senate was marked by his fervent support for reforming state government, especially the judicial and penal system, and protecting the state and teacher retirement systems; and John Young was active in the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Round-Up Club, American Legion, Friends of the Library, and the Sapulpa Historical Society. He was a Patron for the School for the Handicapped; and John Young founded Freedom House, a ministry of Teen Challenge, for women with life-challenging problems. He crusaded to transform Creek County into a "drug free" area. He regularly visited inmates in the Creek County Justice Center twice a week. John and his wife Claudeen ministered together in churches and hospitals, sharing encouragement, helping those in need, praying for the sick, and showing compassion for others; and John W. Young, died on January 17, 2009, at the age of 85 years.