William Darrell Young, 81, of Lubbock, Texas, passed away on August 25, 2026.

Known to all as "Darrell", he was born November 11, 1944, in Tahoka, Texas and spent most of his childhood and adolescent years in Tahoka, before his family moved to Post, Texas, his senior year of high school. Innately advanced in mathematics, Darrell was allowed to skip a full year of elementary school.

Although his first job was picking cotton with his family as a child, one of Darrell's first employment sources was Retco Manufacturing in Lubbock, Texas, an irrigation manufacturing company, where he quickly became the shop foreman. In his mid-twenties, Darrell co-founded Irrigation Machine & Supply and throughout the years, he and his wife Rita, became primary business partners in several other ventures in Lubbock, Houston, California, and Egypt, including Lubbock-based American Turbine Pump Company and, more recently, Profab Corporation. Despite all his success in business, Darrell was not one to just sit behind a desk and could be found demonstrating his tireless and unmatched work ethic in operating and repairing machine lathes and leading his employees by example.

A licensed airplane pilot at one point who owned and flew his own plane, Darrell loved life and lived it to the fullest, attacking challenges and pursing fun with a fearless, thrill-seeking vigor demonstrated by very few. In addition to cruises, scuba-diving expeditions with his wife, Rita, his daughter and son-in-law, Darrell and Rita also enjoyed both domestic and international travel, one of their biggest adventures being a trip to see the Pyramids in Egypt.

Whether attending local high school sporting events or following the Texas Tech Basketball teams with Rita, Darrell was anything but a silent spectator, always being heard from the stands by everyone, including the refs who were often more entertained by his antics than they were bothered by his boisterous, passionate cheering. All who knew Darrell experienced him as a huge personality with a unique sense of wit and humor and an endless vault of stories and tales he was ready to tell at any time. To the very end, one of Darrell's favorite activities was to meet up with his poker buddies every week – not just for the card playing, but for the fun he had hanging out with them each week.

Darrell is preceded in death by his parents, William and Ruth Young, and his daughter, Kelly Selfridge, with whom he shared a love of the ranch, gardening, morning walks, admiring and photographing sunrises, and caring for feral cats at their garden. He is survived by his beloved wife, Rita Young; sons Donon Young (partner Mike Rizzo), Brandon Young, and his son-in-law and hunting buddy, Odell Selfridge, as well as his grandchildren, Garrett Young (wife Kayla) and Kirsten Kassai (husband Mahdi) and 4 great-grandchildren he adored. Darrell is also survived by his older brothers, Malcolm and Erwin, 5 sisters-in-law, and countless nieces and nephews, many who would turn to him for advice and guidance.

Requesting cremation, Darrell's ashes will be scattered at his ranch that he loved so much by his wife and children in a private ceremony at a later date.