Jay A. Young, larger than life
Jay A. Young of Lewes passed away at his home Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, after a six-month battle with bladder cancer.
He was born in Quakertown, Pa., the son of the late John and Lucille Young. They moved from Quakertown around the time Jay was in his last years of high school. He ended up at Rehoboth High School his senior year where he played football and excelled at quarterback, becoming the first downstate, All-State quarterback. While in Rehoboth, he spent his summers lifeguarding on the beaches of Rehoboth for the great Coach Frank Coveleski, who was also his coach and teacher. Jay graduated from Rehoboth High School, a proud member of the class of 1953.
After graduation, Jay worked in several businesses until finally settling down in the home heating oil delivery business, driving his own truck. From this single truck, he started Kent and Sussex Oil Products out of Dover. Jay grew KSOP into a regional distributor, selling products ranging from home heating oil to lubricant oil, gasoline and diesel fuel. His ownership in KSOP would eventually lead to his involvement in NASCAR, supplying the race gas for Dover Downs, Richmond Raceway and Pocono Raceway. Also during this time, Jay purchased Money’s Truckstop in Middletown with partners. Eventually these partners were replaced by his two sons, and they continued to own and operate Money’s until it was eventually sold.
Jay eventually sold KSOP. His initial involvement with NASCAR extended to being directly employed by Unocal, now Sunoco, to manage a team of people to make sure that race gas was distributed at many of the NASCAR racing events. He was a die-hard NASCAR fan and shared his experiences with anyone interested.
He also enjoyed watching his sons play football at Milford High School and The University of Delaware. He began to attend Rehoboth High School reunions just after this, where he would eventually, meet the love of his life, Catherine “Kitty” Johnson. After a brief long-distance relationship between Delaware and Virginia, Kitty decided to move back to her hometown of Rehoboth and the two were eventually married. They were together 30-plus years until Kitty passed away in the summer of 2020.
Jay is survived by his two sons Jaime and Michael Young; granddaughter Sydney Young; Kitty’s children, Brian Tuck and wife Andrea, their children Elodie and Daniel, and Sara Tuck and Ryan Bunting and their son Braylon. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Jackie, Kitty’s sister, and her husband Peppy.
Jay will be forever missed. His kindness, thoughtfulness and wonderful sense of humor are what most everyone loved about him. He had a larger-than-life presence that was beyond description.
The family would like to thank Vitas Hospice Care for their assistance in caring for Jay, as well as Tammy Adkins and her group of caregivers. They are all angels on this earth.
Memorial donations may be made in Jay’s name to the Georgetown Shelter and Animal Health Center, 22918 Dupont Blvd., Georgetown DE 19947.
