The Honorable William H. Young

The Honorable William (Bill) H. Young of Rockville, Maryland, died on July 26, 2026, at the age of 91.

Bill was married for fifty-two years to his forever beloved wife Elizabeth, whom he lost in 2012; raised three wonderful children (Debbie, Bill, and Beth); and adored four grandchildren (Kayla, Molly, Greg, and Emma).

Bill was born September 25, 1934, in Ilion, New York, to William Hunter and Marie Fitzsimmons Young, and was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from Webb Institute in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering and later earned two master's degrees.

Mr. Young began his distinguished career in nuclear energy as an Engineering Duty Officer recruited by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (father of the U.S. nuclear Navy). He worked on the development of nuclear submarine propulsion, including the USS Nautilus, and later served as civilian Associate Director for Submarines. In private industry, he held senior executive and board positions with companies involved in designing and constructing nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants.

· Appointed by President George H. W. Bush, Mr. Young served as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 1993. He helped modernize commercial reactor licensing, advance standardized nuclear plant designs, and improve international nuclear safety.

· Earlier, in 1990, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Young obtained President Gorbachev’s agreement to adopt American nuclear safety procedures for the continued operation of Western-style nuclear reactors for electricity generation throughout the Soviet Union

· He also helped develop the landmark "Megatons to Megawatts" agreement, “one of the great success stories of the nuclear age,” under which uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads was converted into fuel for American power plants. From 1993 to 2013, the program supplied approximately 10 percent of U.S. electricity each year. The Washington Post reported the deal in its lead front-page article on September 1, 1992, as “the biggest swords-to-plowshares agreement of the post-Cold War era.”

· To allow time for his writing, Young became a Nuclear Management Consultant, first leading a Prudence Evaluation of the $4 Billion Seabrook Nuclear Project, where his team successfully demonstrated that the high costs came mainly from excessive national inflation (12%), investment interest (20%), and decreased labor productivity-since the ‘70s-not the cost of nuclear energy itself.

· Later, Young conducted performance evaluations of U. S. nuclear electricity and technology facilities and cleanup of part of the U. S. nuclear weapons complex.

Mr. Young later worked as a nuclear-management consultant, evaluating major energy and environmental-cleanup projects. In retirement, he devoted himself to writing about American civic life, Western civilization, higher education, and nuclear energy. He wrote Centering America: Resurrecting the Local Progressive Ideal and Ordering America: Fulfilling the Ideals of Western Civilization, as well as approximately 125 articles for the National Association of Scholars.

Bill and his wife of 52 years, Betty, raised three children and enjoyed dinner dancing, theater, opera, museums, and travel across Europe and Asia. He also served as an officer and director of the National Society of Arts and Letters' Washington, D.C., chapter.

William H. Young is survived by his daughter Deborah, her husband, Gary Streeton, of New Market, MD, and their children, Molly and Gregory; his son William and his wife, Lisa Shik, of Boulder, CO; and his daughter Elizabeth Young of Concord, NH, and her daughters, Kayla Parcells (and her husband, Evan Gillis) and Emma Parcells.

As a widower, Mr. Young lived independently in Rockville, MD, near his dedicated caretaker-daughter, Deborah. He is also survived by his mutually devoted partner, Margaret (Peggy) McNulty, a widower, of McLean, VA.

He will be remembered for his dedication to his family, his lifelong public service, and his enduring commitment to nuclear energy, education, and the ideals of American civic life.

Arrangements are with Stauffer Funeral Home, Frederick. Expressions of sympathy may be offered to the family at StaufferFuneralHome.com.