Faith and strong family values are the keys to a long lasting marriage. That’s been the secret behind the successful marriage of William and Yvonne Young of North Charleroi. The couple will celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary July 3 and believe their dedication to their church and commitment to their family have gotten them through life’s ups and downs over the years. Before the couple met, they were both raised in hard working middle class families. Yvonne, now 73, was born and raised in North Charleroi, a daughter of the late Charles and Mary (Ray) Teulle, who both emigrated from France to America at a young age. Her father worked as a streetcar motorman. She grew up in a comfortable home on Olive Avenue and attended grade school in North Charleroi with her brothers, the late Ferdnand and Charles, of Johnstown. She graduated from high school in 1951. Her future husband was born and raised in Fayette City, a son of the late Clarence and Lois (Stark) Young. His father worked as an auto mechanic for many years. He went to Fayette City schools with his brother, Jack, who lives in Shepardstown, W.Va. He graduated from Charleroi High School in 1947. In his heyday as a young man, Young, now 76, was quite a baseball player as he pitched for the championship Fayette City Merchants. Young says he loved the game, but decided not to pursue it any further than the Merchants once he met his future bride. He was working at the A&P store in Charleroi when Yvonne’s mother decided to play matchmaker. Her mother brought Yvonnne to the store one day to her daughter to the nice young man working there. “I remember I still had curlers in my hair when she made me go with her,” Yvonne Young remembers. The matchmaking worked out, and they started dating and went to Yvonne’s senior prom together. “We would go to dances and to the movies, because there were four theaters one time in Charleroi,” Yvonne said. A popular spot was a no-alcohol night club in Finleyville. During their courtship, Young was drafted into the military at age 22 in 1951. He was stationed with the 118th Transportation Company for two years, spending time in Newport News, Va., and a base in New Jersey before being sent to Goose Bay Labrador, a U.S. Air Force base near Greenland. Around Christmas of that year, Bob was at Yvonne’s family’s home and hid the engagement ring box in the Christmas tree. Surrounded by her family, Bob popped the question. Yvonne’s matchmaking mother was quite pleased. “She was very happy with us,” Yvonne said. They were married during a military leave July 3, 1951, at the Fayette City Methodist Church, flanked by many family and friends. After their wedding, the young newlyweds made their first home on the Newport News military base and stayed there until Yvonne became pregnant with their first child and Bob was sent to Goose Bay Labrador. “I came home so I could be with my mother,” Yvonne said. Bob didn’t get to see his first child — a daughter, Cheryl –until six months after she was born. “The doctor told me my work was done and he could take it from there,” Young said of his request for a family leave. Once he was discharged, the couple lived for a short time in Belle Vernon, and Bob took back his old job at the A&P store in Charleroi. Over the years, he worked many jobs to support his family, including working in an Ohio steel mill, 18 years as an insurance salesman and car salesman, and nine years working at the Allenport plant of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The family eventually moved into Yvonne’s parents’ home on Olive Avenue, where they still live. Over the years, Bob was a dedicated camper and took his family “everywhere” in their trailer. “Everything was always about the family and when we went camping, everyone went,” Bob said. Their own children and grandchildren are grown up now, but they still have the whole family over every Sunday for home-cooked dinners. They have three children, Cheryl Matyas, Terry and his wife Monica Young and Pamela and her husband Bill Marsich, all of Charleroi. They also have seven grandchildren, Jenna and Michael Matyas, Adam and Chad Young and Ryan, Michelle and Kimberly Marsich. “We’ve always been a close-knit family and it’s important to pass those values on,” Yvonne says. For 17 years she worked as a school crossing guard in North Charleroi and Fallowfield Township. She has also been a babysitter for many years for families in the neighborhood, a role she still plays today for a toddler who comes a few days a week. “He keeps me youthful,” she said with a laugh. These days the couple says they are blessed to have overcome health problems over the years. Yvonne is a breast cancer survivor since 1973 when she had a mastectomy. Three years ago, she recovered from a hysterectomy that was needed when doctors discovered a cancerous tumor. Bob has also had several heart operations and suffered a stroke about 2 1/2 years ago that left him unable to drive but still able to get around with the help of a walker. “We feel very blessed to have overcome what we have,” she said. The couple are members of Grace United Methodist Church in Coal Center and say their strong faith is the key to life-long happiness and success in marriage. “It’s so sad because so many couples don’t realize they need God in their lives,” Yvonne says. A light-hearted approach to life and a sense of humor don’t hurt either. Just ask Bob. “I always say we are going to grow old, but die young,” he said.

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---