Alta Young passed away during the afternoon of Saturday, November 21, at Salemhaven in Salem, New Hampshire. She was 93. Her daughter Janice, Janice's husband David, and her granddaughter Lauren were at her side.She was born Alta Agnes Roberts in Lisbon Falls, Maine, on May 24, 1922. Her father raised Alta up the street from his mother’s farm. Alta’s grandmother and nine aunts and uncles were never far. By age ten, she was learning the art of homemaking, and cooking meals for her father.  In high school, she met Robert Young. They were married at age 20 in 1942. Robert soon joined the army, and was stationed at Fort Levett in Portland. Alta experienced life living on ration books. She took a job in a shoe factory, where she caused a stir by working faster than the men. Soon after the war, Alta and Robert had two children, Michael and Janice. When the children were young, they moved to Billerica, Massachusetts. Robert ran a gun shop out of their home, and Alta blued the gun barrels. Every year, she planted zinnias and marigolds, and canned fruit from her blackberry bushes and peach trees. She and her children would pick wild blueberries in their neighborhood and make jam.  She shared her husband's passion for the outdoors. Alta and Robert loved traveling to Canada to fish. They drove to northern Quebec for 37 consecutive years. More often than not, she caught the largest fish. She was known for her green thumb. As seasons changed, so did the blooms in her garden. Plants that would not survive the winter were brought inside. She was independent and proud of her home.She was an avid craftsperson. She knitted, crocheted, sewed and embroidered. When the family needed extra money, she sewed stuffed animals and sold them door to door. She passed her passion for sewing and needlecraft to her daughter.  She loved games. As a child, she and a cousin played a game of grabbing plums off a tree to which a billy goat had been tied. The game was to get a plum without being headbutted by the goat. Later in life, she played cards and board games with her grandchildren. The past couple of years saw her playing bingo every week. She loved to laugh and she loved to sing.  She valued lasting friendships. She stayed in touch with her fishing friends from Quebec and a childhood friend from grammar school. Throughout her life, she was friends with her neighbors.  Alta and Robert remained happily married until Robert's passing in October of 2001. She is survived by her daughter Janice and husband David, and by her son Michael and wife Millie and her granddaughters, Cynthia, Kim, Vicky, Kristin, and Lauren;  her grandson, Christopher, and her great grandsons, Zachary, Trevor, Tyler, CJ, and Kaiden.

A celebration of life is scheduled from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday November 29th at Salemhaven, 23 Geremonty Drive, Salem, New Hampshire. Arrangements are by The Charles F. Dewhirst Funeral Home, 80 Broadway, Methuen. To send an online condolence, please go to www.dewhirstfuneral.com or www.facebook.com/DewhirstFuneralHome.

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