The Youngmans: Our Legacy

Linda (Erlandson) Youngman C’76 and Owen Youngman C’76

Looking back as they make an estate gift to North Park, Owen and Linda say they really never considered other colleges; they both were raised in Covenant churches, attended Covenant camps, and attended Covenant High in Christ (CHIC)—although at different locations. They met at North Park during their senior year. “I still remember when I completely forgot a college choir performance in chapel because I was driving Linda to her student teaching,” Owen says ruefully.

They married at the end of the summer after senior year and both found themselves doing editorial work, Linda at the Covenant Companion (where she was eventually managing editor) and Owen at the Chicago Tribune (where he was eventually managing editor for features). “She made it first,” Owen points out. Linda would move on to textbook editing, and Owen to launching the Tribune into the internet era—a job that ultimately led to his current position, an endowed chair as professor of digital media strategy in Northwestern University’s journalism school.

Owen served for three years as the liaison from the Covenant Executive Board to the North Park Board of Trustees and is rejoining the NPU Board this fall. They have stayed involved with North Park all along the way, helping not just with capital campaigns, but also programs like the long-running Chamber Music Festival.

“Including North Park in our estate plan was an important but easy decision,” they say. “It’s important that North Park continues to be able to shape lives in this way for years into the future, and we want to help. That’s something any alumnus can do by thinking ahead and planning ahead in this way.”