Glista Ann Young

Glista Ann Kiser Young, 91, of Bessemer City, passed away at Robin Johnson House in Dallas on Saturday, November 11, 2023. She was born April 13, 1932, in Gaston County, and was the youngest daughter of Robert M. and Bertha Carson Kiser. She was a 1950 graduate of Bessemer City High School, where her class named her the girl who was prettiest, cutest, most likely to succeed, most popular, and the one with the prettiest hair and figure. She was a 1954 graduate of Greensboro College with a bachelor’s degree in home economics, and in her senior year married William Franklin “Bill” Young, who died in 2012. Her career as a teacher took her to classrooms in Tryon and McAdenville Elementary schools in Gaston County and to Kings Mountain Junior High School in Cleveland County, from which she retired.

In 1960-61, she and her husband spent a year living among the Tsimshian people of Metlakatla Indian Community on Annette Island in Alaska, where they were teachers in the tribal school. For several years, she was a chaperone on summer tours organized by her husband for Kings Mountain City Schools that took students by bus to California, Alaska and New England. Glista and Bill loved to travel, especially in their retirement, and she had visited all 50 states and several Canadian provinces and territories.

Glista was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She loved reading, doing puzzles, crocheting, gardening, and canning. She loved to laugh and brought cheer to those she encountered. She was a faithful member of First United Methodist Church in Bessemer City, where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday School.

Along with her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, Robert M. Kiser Jr., and a sister, Nancy Kiser Clements.

Those left to cherish her memory include her children William Franklin Young, Jr. (Connie); Wesley Young (Jennifer), Carolyn Nicholson (Mike) and Lee Young (Pamela); sister Patsy Kiser Lindsay; grandchildren Zachary Young (Kayla), Taylor Young (Sarah), Jerome Young, Keith Nicholson, Caleb Young, Joshua Young, and Grace Young; great-grandchildren Scarlett, Holden, and Luca Young; and a number of nieces and nephews.

The family will host a memorial service to celebrate Glista’s life at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Gaston Hospice, P.O. Box 3984, Gastonia NC 28054.