Dr. John M. Young

Life Fellow Dr. John Morgan Young passed away on September 27, 2021 at the age of 88 in San Antonio, TX, where he spent the twilight of his life.

 Many of Dr. Young’s contemporaries have passed away and it was not until the summer of 2022 that we became aware of his passing. While I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Young while an aspirant of this academy, I did not know him well.  Fortunately, because as an Academy we have retained our history of our members through their memoir and interviews, I was able to learn more about his fascinating life and the Academy members who impacted him. 

 Prior to entering dental school, Dr. Young graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in Chemistry and Arts. Upon graduation from dental school in 1957, the USAF immediately assigned him to Eglin AFB, FL., where he served until 1960 when he left the AF to go into private practice in Minneapolis, MN. It was during this time that Academy Fellows and Past Presidents Ralph Boos and Bill Braasch became his good friends and mentors. 

 Sparked by the goal of becoming involved in the USAF Dental Research Programs, he re-entered the AF in January 1962 and in 1965, he was sent to The Ohio State University to study under Life Fellow Carl Boucher Prosthodontics and General Science. and Past Presidents Carl Boucher and Victor Steffel were his mentors and Academy Life Fellow, and Past President George Zarb was his classmate. Academy Life Fellow and Past President Ken Rudd sponsored him into the Academy, where Academy Life Fellows Alan Brewer, Bill Laney, and Davis Henderson mentored him. He became an academy fellow in 1973.

During his career, he was a consultant to NASA, and upon retirement, he became contracted to NASA for the development of procedures and equipment for medical and dental treatment in space flights. NASA tasked him with developing the specialized treatment equipment and procedures for the International Space Station and future deep space exploration.  In 1969, he was assigned to Tan Son Nhut AB, Republic of Vietnam AF where he worked with Vietnamese surgeons to teach facial reconstruction. During that year he received his American Board of Prosthodontics certification.

In 1972, after returning to the United States, the USAF assigned him to the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks AFB in their research division.  He retired from the US Air Force in 1984 as a Colonel and Commander of the USAF Dental Investigation Service. Upon retirement, he joined the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School in San Antonio as Research Director, retiring in 2002 as a Clinical Professor.

Over the course of his career, he chaired the ANSI Committees on Dental Treatment Equipment and Lighting Standards, he developed intraoral multiangle laser imaging, developed and tested surgical techniques for use in zero gravity conditions as found in extraterrestrial spacecraft and performed laparoscopic surgery in zero gravity conditions proving that anastomosing of blood vessels was possible and developed techniques and equipment to contain any possibly infectious particulate matter that may escape from surgical sites and contaminate the interior of a spacecraft.  And if all that was not amazing enough, he ran an SCCA GT-3 sports car racing team.

While Dr. Young’s professional life was very full, he found the time to reflect on his relationships with others and those individuals who meant so much to him.  So, I would like to quote his memoir, “One may wonder how the Academy enters this scenario. Since I was working in uncharted waters a good bit of the time, I often relied on Academy colleagues to review and comment on various projects. Ken Rudd was a stalwart as were Bob Lytle, Emmitt Beckley, Hart Long, George Murrell, George Zarb, Bill Laney, Gary Rogoff, and John Holmes to name just a few.

I could not have been successful without the advice and counsel of my wife Kasha. Our daughters have made successful careers, one as a country ranch attorney and the other as a PhD managing the Texas A & M Performing Arts Center in Corpus Christi. Our lives have been a grand event and the Checkered Flag for us is looming, thanks for the ride!”

Clearly, Dr. Young had a fulfilled life, leaving a great legacy to prosthodontics and the world.

Prepared by AP Active Fellow

Dr. Lisa A. Lang