By Mark Donovan

mdonovan@heraldsun.com; 419-6655

DURHAM -- Duke Chapel's 11th spiritual leader, the Rev. Robert T. Young, died Monday.

The Rev. Young, 74 at the time of his death, was affiliated with the United Methodist Church, headed the Duke Chapel from 1973-83 and was Duke's first "Minister to the University," a title change recommended in 1972 by a campus committee. He was designated "Dean of the Chapel" in 1983 upon his resignation for health reasons.

Among honors he received were the Order of the Longleaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor.

The Rev. Young organized the The Friends of the Chapel, a successful support group, in 1974.

The Robert T. Young Endowment today funds the appearances of guest preachers at the Chapel.

The Rev. Young was elected student body president at UNC Chapel Hill before his graduation in 1957. The Rev. Young completed post-graduate work at Duke Divinity School in 1960 and went on to study at the University of Glasgow.

Former UNC system president William Friday, who assumed that post in 1956, became a lifelong friend of the then-student body president.

"We stayed in touch through the years," Friday said Tuesday upon being informed of the Rev. Young's death. "He was one of the really fine people in this state.

"He spent his life, really, doing whatever he could to better the place, using all his energies for that. ... The university is proud to count him as one of ours," Friday added.

Before becoming Minister to the University, the Rev. Young was assistant dean of Duke Divinity School.

He left Duke in 1983 following heart surgery.

He was working at River Hills Community Church in Lake Wylie, S.C., near Charlotte, until shortly before his death.

A three-sport athlete in high school, the Rev. Young served as chaplain to Duke athletic teams during his tenure at the school and was a familiar face on the sidelines and in the locker room at Duke football games. He later worked with the UNC Charlotte athletic program.

According to his family, the Rev. Young put aside his lifelong support of the Duke basketball program long enough to preside at the wedding of now-UNC basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda.

The Rev. Young is survived by his widow Virginia, four children, two step-children, 10 grandchildren and a brother, Chapel Hill author Perry Deane Young.

Visitation will be held at River Hills Community Church from 6-8 p.m. Friday. Funeral services will be held at the church at 2 p.m. Saturday and interment will follow at River Hills Community Church Cemetery.

Information from www.chapel.duke.edu was used in this report.