Young at heart: Kenneth Young reflects on life, his faith and his family

Kenneth Young is a decorated veteran. A longtime preacher. And was a gifted athlete in his youth.

He can also trace his lineage back to George Beatty, an early pioneer in Montana, who arrived in Bannack in 1862.

Young also happens to be a remarkable grandfather – his grandchildren are the Schweikert kids, all of which made an indelible mark on Columbia Falls athletics. Cody Schweikert is a member of the Montana Grizzlies football team, for example; his brother Ike, played for Montana Tech; sister Hannah played volleyball at Carroll College and sister KJ played softball at the University of Great Falls. 

Young, the father of Suzy Schweikert, grew up in Great Falls and made his mark as a lineman on the football team. (They won a state championship when he was a junior, but he said he didn’t play much.) His own father wasn’t around much, so Young said he looked to his coaches as father figures. After high school he walked on the football team at Montana State and by his junior year was a starting  lineman, working his way up to a full scholarship. He studied engineering and after graduation, joined the Marine Corps where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, rather than get drafted.

“I wanted to be more of a man than I was,” he said.

In his final year of service, he said he got to play 60 basketball games for the Marines in the winter of ‘64-65. On Feb. 11, 1965 Young along with other Marines used their bare hands to dig through the rubble of  the bombed Viet Cuong Hotel in Vietnam, to rescue people inside, even though there was the threat of live munitions still in the building. He worked until everyone was rescued and for his efforts received a Navy Commendation medal. It was just at the start of the Vietnam War.

Young left the Marines as a First Lieutenant and went back to Great Falls where he met his wife, Grace, who initially rejected his advances.

But eventually they hit it off and were married June 18, 1966.

He would go on to get a master’s degree in engineering from Stanford University, but he was concerned about the way his life was going and became a born again Christian later in ‘66. The couple went on to have seven children and Young’s life took another turn as he decided to follow his Christian faith and went on to receive a master’s in divinity from the Portland Baptist Seminary.

He went on to being a pastor in several states, including Oregon, Idaho and Montana. (He started three churches in Idaho and the Flathead Valley Christian School in Kalispell about 1980.)

He and Grace returned to Kalispell permanently in 2012, where they live today.

All of their children, Kathy, Carrie, Suzy, Kenny, Sara, Joe and Ben were  athletes. Young is a died-in-the-wool MSU fan. He wore an MSU sweatshirt for this interview.

How does he reconcile his grandson Cody as UM Grizzly?

“I’ll root for Cody, but not the Griz,” he said with a smile. 

Living in a family of athletes, his advice to them is simple.

“Remember, you’re part of team. You have teammates,” he said. “Know and encourage each other whether winning or losing...  And enjoy the game.”