JoAnn (Gabarron) Young
JoAnn (Gabarron) Young
Married to Paul Young (LHS '56) for 49 years.
Children: Julie Bensley, 47, Toronto; Paul Young, III, 45, Doylestown, PA; Laura Young, 44, Hoboken, NJ. Six Grandchildren. Allison & Matthew Bensley; David, Sarah, Alice, Kerry Young.
Julie and her husband, Tim, who is the CFO of Pepsi-Cola North America, and are now living in Greenwich, CT, just 45 minutes from Oradell. Our daughter is a great Mom, the perfect corporate wife, and helped me tirelessly with this yearbook! I never would have made it without her. Paul is a real estate appraiser, with his own business. His wife, Betsy, has over twenty piano students and accompanies operatic students. Laura is a television editor, working primarily on wonderful public television projects for "Great Performances, " the Metropolitan Opera Company, "Live from Lincoln Center" and for me, too! Laura will marry her fiance, Tino Santini, in November of 2008. Paul and I spent the first 13 years of our marriage in Lincoln and various small towns in Nebraska. I was your typical stay-at-home Mom, sometimes working part-time, but mostly doing school activities, community involvement, political stuff. On Labor Day, 1970, we flew to the east coast to begin our new lives in New Jersey, never dreaming that our Midwestern days were over. When you read about Paul's career in his bio, you will see how he 'took it to the limit' (our favorite Eagles' song.) His job re-location affected my future work, too. In January, 1974, when the kids were in 7th, 8th and 9th grade, I went back to college full time and graduated in December, 1976. I went to work for CBS Television in March, 1977, and then joined my boss who started his own production company in mid-June, 1980, putting me on a fast path to producer/writer. I formed my own company in 1991. In the past 29 years, I have had an exciting and always challenging career. I did 10 "In Performance at the White House" programs, 7 with the Reagans and 3 with the Bushs, and the talent was always legendary, directed by the ever-amusing Marvin Hamlisch. I have produced and/or written 50 fund-raising programs for public television, working with some truly fabulous people such as Audrey Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Mary Martin and Placido Domingo. These programs help finance the work of PBS stations all across the country. My first program was reuniting The Kingston Trio in 1981 and this year, 2006, I made a documentary about the Trio, using clips from my own show! It made me feel like a real old-timer! I produced and wrote the first Lawrence Welk Special for PBS in 1987, which led to the weekly series on public television for the past 19 years and produced the last one, the 14th, in 2006. (I have actually been mistaken for a Lennon Sister, which should make you all laugh!) I have had two primetime Emmy nominations, won a New York Emmy, and two Cine Golden Eagle Awards. I wrote Parts 4 and 5 for the 6-part public television series, "Broadway: The American Musical, " which won an Emmy last year. Through all this work, I still have time for a full family life, with holidays and long summers at the Jersey shore. Our life is enriched by our three children and we are excited and nourished by the promise of our grandchildren. Allison graduated magna cum laude from Boston College in 2005 and works in marketing for A.C. Nielsen BASES in CT. Matthew graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2008, after just 4 years, with both a B.S.C.S. And a Masters in Computer Science Engineering. He will begin work in late July at Google, in Mountain View, CA. Paul's children have yet to begin their college years but we have big hopes and dreams for them. I have been blessed by a husband who nurtured and encouraged me, supporting me when the hours were long or I was "on the road, " and with children who have put up with a lack of grandparent babysitting but, hopefully, not with a lack of boundless motherly love! Finally, it was my affection and admiration for all of you that encouraged me to do this yearbook and the new website!