Henry Preston Young, Jr.

Mr. Henry Preston (Pres) Young, Jr. of 1330 Bernard Street, South Boston, Virginia died Sunday, October 24, 2010 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was born in Halifax County, Virginia February 25, 1923 and was 87 years of age. He was the son of the late Henry Preston Young, Sr. and Hallie Jackson Cole Young and was married to Evelyn Byrd Inge Young, who survives. Mr. Young was a member of the Army Air Force, having joined in 1943 and served until the end of World War II, obtaining the rank of Flight Officer. He joined the fledgling radio station WHLF, started by John Cole and Roy Marsh, in the fall of 1947and served many years with that station, becoming station manager and holding that position for many years. Pres was well known and tremendously liked by a multitude of people in and around Halifax County, South Boston and many areas outside of the county. He was "Uncle Pres" to kids and grownups alike as he would read the "Santa Claus" letters at Christmas time. He was enjoyed by farmers and other listeners when he would broadcast the tobacco sales locally and enjoyed by sports fans when he and his fellow announcers (Ken Parton and Nick Long to name a couple) would broadcast the local high school games. Pres was also enjoyed as a writer by readers of the local papers when he would write "The Elder's Bench" and also those who have read his book "COUNTRY FOLKS The Way We were Back Then In Halifax County, Virginia, A Collection of Stories by Henry Preston Young, Jr.. Pres was also active in his church, First Presbyterian Church, South Boston, until his health would not allow him to do so.