Edith M. Van Houten Young, 99, died Saturday, January 20, 2007, at Allen Memorial Hospital, Waterloo.

Mrs. Young was born July 16, 1907, in Ames, Story County, Iowa, beloved daughter of Arthur W. Van Houten (1881-1974) and Pearle Johnson Van Houten (1883-1948). On February 3, 1932, she married Robert A. Young of Waterloo in the Van Houten home in Davenport, Iowa, the day after Bob’s graduation from the University of Iowa. He died on March 7, 1990, in Waterloo.

Edith attended Tyler Elementary School and Sudlow Intermediate School in Davenport, Iowa, and Davenport High School, where she graduated with the Class of 1925.

She continued her education at the University of Iowa, meeting her future husband, Bob, and joining Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She was also a member of Eta Sigma Phi, the honorary classical society. During high school and summers throughout her university years, Edith was employed by a Davenport company that built homes sold through a catalog. While in intermediate school, she worked in the school cafeteria; in college, she worked in the commerce library. Upon graduation from Iowa in 1929, she began teaching English and Latin in the Belle Plaine High School, continuing there until her marriage.

Mrs. Young joined Chapter Z of PEO when she and Bob began life together in Waterloo. She was among the forty women who in 1938 organized the Junior Service League in Waterloo. She was also past president of the Gamma Phi Beta Alumnae Association and served on Waterloo’s YWCA board for many years. An accomplished cook, Edith was happy to serve as editor for two cookbooks published in 1972 and 1976 to support the Rensselaer Russell House. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Waterloo.

With her husband and after his death, Mrs. Young carried out various philanthropic activities in Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Waverly, and Iowa City in Iowa and in Warrensburg in Missouri. An avid reader, she was especially interested in the history of Iowa, the history of the Midwest, and nature. She and Bob enjoyed travel in the United States and other countries.

In the fall of 2000, Mrs. Young became a resident of Rosewood Estate, where she lived until her death.

She is survived by her son James Van Young (Virginia) of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; grandchildren Susan Young Peters, Ann Young Anderson, David Robert Young, James Hudson Young, and Margaret Young Kaliban; great-grandchildren Sarah, Stephanie, Dustin, Adam, Alex, Andrew, Kelly, Katherine, Rachel, Laura, and Allison; sister-in-law Margaret Young Langlas of Waterloo; and special friends Jane Redenbaugh Young and Dr. Andrew and Mrs. Murtis Smith of Waterloo.

Mrs. Young is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Robert A. Young, Sr. (1910-1990); her son Robert A. Young, Jr. (1934-2000); her brother George W. Van Houten, Sr. (1905-1999) of Davenport; and many friends.