March 10, 1948 – July 15, 2022

Patrick Albert Young, born in Burns Lake, BC on March 10, 1948, passed away age 74 on July 15, 2022 at home peacefully with loving wife Alice at his side.

Pat is survived by wife Alice; sons Gary (Rhonda), Troy, (Erin), and Rogi; stepchildren Julia (Greg), and Terry (Wendy); grand kids Tyson, Regan, Taylor, Morgan, Nolan, Riordan, Henry, Tillie, Callum, Alexandra, Sydney, Logan, Keagan, and Dane; brother Larry (Lucy), sisters Maureen and Elizabeth; and many nieces and nephews and extended family. Pat is predeceased by his first wife Rosemary and his foster mom Nan.

Growing up in Telkwa, Pat was in the foster system, raised by Nan until at age 13 when, through some brushes with the law Pat ended up being told to go logging or go to reform school (it was an easy decision for him) and he went to work in the woods. Eventually working with Pete Aslin, he was given life lessons and mentored by Pete, leading to a friendship that lasted until Pete passed. Pat had strong ties with Wet’suwet’en from an early age, starting with his playing ball with the Telkwa Bums; this is where he met lifelong friend, Moricetown play Warner William.

These relationships fostered his future business, Pat regularly developed a relationship with the First Nations in the area, working with Nazko, Kelly Lake, Lheidli T’enneh, McLeod Lake, We Wai Kai, and Witset.

Pat founded Roga Contracting in 1973, with a single truck and the desire to make his family’s life better. He quickly expanded into logging and bought his first log loader and skidder in 1977, adding a feller-buncher the next year. Not wanting to rely on a single company for work Pat held contracts throughout BC and Alberta, moving his family to work in 100 Mile House, 70 Mile House, Alexis Creek, Chezacut, Williams Lake, Grande Cache, Grande Prairie, Mackenzie, Kamloops, Campbell River, and Prince George. Over the years, Pat worked at Haida Gwaii, Mid Coast, Sooke, on the BC-NWT border, on the BC-US border, on the BC-AB border, and into Alberta at Whitecourt, Grande Cache, and Grande Prairie. He covered the province and more working high lead logging, handfalling, mechanical logging, building road, driving truck, and he tried to improve them all by seeing better ways to get the work done. Pat also worked construction, running equipment while opening up Endako Mine, supervising on the Dome Creek – McBride highway, and being superintendent on the highway between Alexandria and Sheep Creek. He was good in construction, but his love was always logging.

In 1993 Pat moved his family to Kamloops after purchasing a contract with Riverside. Pat and Rose purchased a house in Westwold overlooking the valley, living a simple life of work and Blazers hockey games. In 2000 Rose was taken by cancer and Pat did what he did in tough times, he put his head down and worked harder.

A few years later he and Alice got together. They lived their life together in Kamloops and Campbell River, working, traveling, scuffing motorhomes, running borders, buying and selling a home in Arizona, and enjoying one another’s company, they were happy together to the end.

Pat lived an extraordinary life, leading in the forest industry, always liking to innovate and find a better way to get things done safely. Pat cared for others, was always trying to build and develop a better way forward for people, mentoring people in business and life. We witnessed this through his actions with our family and the business.

In lieu of flowers please donate to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Memorial service will be held September 16, 2022 (doors open at 1, service at 3PM) at Coast Kamloops Hotel & Conference Centre, 1250 Rogers Way, Kamloops, BC V1S 1N5.

A message of condolence can be provided to the family through Schoening Funeral Service.

• Date : 2022-07-15
• Location : Kamloops