Ray Allison Young

We are deeply saddened to share that Ray Allison Young, age 79, passed away on May 25, 2026. Ray was a beloved husband, father, brother, and friend, and he will be sorely missed.

Born in Canton, Ohio and raised in Pike Township, Ohio, Ray was a 1964 graduate of Canton South High School and a 1968 graduate of Hiram College. Ray had an accomplished 43-year career working for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. As part of that career, Ray spent several years of the 1970s on the pit crews of IndyCar racing teams, including the McLaren team that won the Indianapolis 500 in 1974. As a tire engineer for Goodyear over the decades that followed, Ray was an inventor of multiple patented tire designs and rubber packaging products.

Ray loved the outdoors and planted hundreds of trees on the East Sparta property he owned for many years. Ray enjoyed fishing, especially in Canada and on the Florida Gulf, and was an avid reader and experienced traveler.

Ray is preceded in death by his son Jake M. Young, who passed away on September 2, 2025, and by his mother Mary Rachael Devine Young and father Francis Marion Young. Ray is survived by his wife Janice M. Young, his daughters Melissa Jo (Richard) Young Collard and Madelyn R. Young, his brother Mehl Young, and his sister Kathleen (Steve) Diloreto.

On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, the Young family will hold funeral services to honor the lives of both Ray and his son Jake. Visiting hours will take place from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm at Kreighbaum-Sanders in Canton South, followed by a memorial service at 12:30 pm. Burial services will take place at 1:30 pm at Melscheimer Cemetery with a reception after at the Melscheimer Schoolhouse.

Those interested in honoring Ray’s memory are welcome to contribute to Refuge of Hope, PO Box 9361 Canton, Ohio 44711.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Kreighbaum-Sanders Funeral Home

4041 Cleveland Ave. S, Canton, Ohio 44707

Family and friends are invited to share memories and condolences at

sandersfuneralhomes.com 

(330) 484-2525