Mary Francis Young

Mary Frances Blackwell Young, daughter of the late Paul and Mary Lockett Blackwell, answered God's call to her eternal home on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

She was born in Syracuse, New York, and later moved with her family to Salisbury, North Carolina. She was educated at R.A. Clement High School in Cleveland, North Carolina, where she played forward on the girls' basketball team. She went on to attend nursing school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mary began her career as an aide at Rowan Memorial Hospital in Salisbury, North Carolina, and later worked as a cloth preparer at North Carolina Finishing Company. Following her marriage to Rev. Albert Young, Jr. in December 1976, the couple relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked at Atlanta West Hospital as a maternity nurse technician in labor and delivery.

Throughout their life together, they lived in several places. In Columbus, Georgia, she worked for the county as a night-shift counselor. In Ponchatoula, Louisiana, she was employed at Sears and Roebuck as a sales clerk. Later, in York, South Carolina, she worked for Walmart as a customer service manager until her retirement.

Mary was a devoted servant in the church and held numerous leadership roles. She served as Third Vice President of the Ministers' Spouses and Widowers Fellowship of the A.M.E Zion Church. She was Conference President of Home Missions in both the Alabama and Pee Dee Conferences of the A.M.E Zion Church, and Missionary President of the Augusta District in the Georgia Conference.

She was preceded in death by her siblings Larry, Paul, Ann, and Carolyn, as well as her son, Rodney Henderson.

She leaves to cherish her loving memory her devoted husband, Rev. Albert Young, Jr. of Lancaster, South Carolina; one daughter, Prophetess LaTonya Henderson Richardson of Charlotte, North Carolina; three sons, Ronald Kevin Henderson, Robert (Pam) Henderson of Lexington, NC, and Clinton DeShawn Young (Susan), of Lancaster, South Carolina; and siblings Thelma Rankin of Detroit, Michigan, and George Blackwell and Norman Blackwell of Salisbury, North Carolina.

She is also survived by 28 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and 15 great-great-grandchildren, along with a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and dear friends.

She shared a special bond with three devoted daughters: April Witherspoon Morrow of Rock Hill, South Carolina; Monica Shelton of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Gwen Hudson of Lancaster, South Carolina.

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