Obituaries:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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YANCEY, NOEL M. — Yancey, 90, a newsman in the Raleigh, N.C., bureau of The Associated Press for 39 years, died March 11, 2004 in Chapel Hill, N.C., of respiratory failure.

Yancey graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1935 and was a student of Skipper Coffin, first dean of UNC's journalism school.

He worked for several newspapers before accepting a job with The Associated Press. He spent 39 years with the AP in Raleigh, rising to correspondent of the news service's bureau there.

He was known as the "dean of the Raleigh press corps," covering the Legislature and 12 governors from J.C.B. Ehringhaus to James B. Hunt Jr.

After retirement, Yancey wrote a column, "As I Recall It," which was carried in several North Carolina newspapers. In 2003, the School of Communications at Elon University recognized Yancey for his long and distinguished service to the journalism profession.

YUEH-KANG, PAN — former photographer and administrative director who worked for the AP in Taiwan for 28 years, died Jan. 3, 2001 in Qingdao, China, after a long illness. He was 63.

Pan began working for the AP as a photographer in Taipei in 1971. He became the bureau's administrative director in 1982, responsible for overseeing the news and sales operations.

Before joining the AP, Pan worked for Taiwan's Central News Agency from 1960 to 1971.

Survivors include his wife and three sons.

YOUNG, EDWARD RUSH — news editor for the AP in the Richmond, Va., bureau in the 1970s and early 1980s, died March 28, 2001 in Richmond. He was 81.

Young joined the AP in 1946 after working briefly for The Daily Progress in Charlottesville and serving in the Navy during World War II. He became the Richmond bureau's sports editor in the 1950s. In 1970, he was promoted to news editor responsible for overseeing the AP's news coverage in Virginia. He held the job for 13 years.

AP writer Bill Baskervill, who worked with Young for 14 years, said Young was "the heart and soul" of the Richmond bureau for many years. "His quiet leadership and guidance and his graceful writing inspired many staffers," Baskervill said.

"He knew how to approach the story, what questions to ask and — mostly — how to write it with grace and style," said Merrill Hartson, an AP Washington news editor who started his career working with Young in Richmond.

"He was a co-worker, a mentor — but most of all a friend to whom I could turn for advice or merely companionship,'" said Marshall Johnson, retired sports editor for the Richmond bureau. "He was the greatest writer I've ever known under pressure, and I've been associated with some truly good writers."

In 1999, Young helped the Richmond bureau and Virginia newspapers select the state's most significant stories of the 20th century.

"He could remember so much that none of us could remember," said Dorothy Abernathy, the AP's Richmond bureau chief. "He said, 'I don't know how much I can help because I can only remember news stories back to 1935.'"

Survivors include a nephew and niece.