Thomas Young Obituary

Thomas Edward Young, Jr. CHARLESTON - Thomas Edward Young, Jr., 78, beloved husband of Catherine Traynham Young, passed away August 30, 2025, due to complications of glioblastoma. Tommy was born in 1946 in the well-kept village of Pinopolis, on Lake Moultrie. The son of Thomas E. Young, Sr. and Julia Parker Young, Tommy attended Berkeley High School, where he played baseball and drove a school bus. His buddies called him "Catfish." He graduated from Wofford College in 1969 and was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. His life-long love of travel took him to South America in 1972, where he saw great potential in importing handmade crafts and beads from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. In Charleston he sold much of it in Charleston's early Flea Market and later on King Street as Ecuadorian Imports. It was Charleston's first bead store. With his longtime friend, Bob Glenn, Tommy founded The Cargo Hold, Inc., a wholesale company doing business for over fifty years. During his life, Tommy was particularly fond of reading, often citing lines of a favorite poem, or discussing national news topics that interested him. Other favorite pastimes were golf at Patriots Point, a long ski run out west in powdered snow, a good oyster roast in the fall, Wofford alumni breakfasts at the City Marina, fly fishing trips with Catherine, lunches with his daughter at Fast and French, visits to a peach stand in the Upstate, attending events at the Charleston Library Society, and selecting a nice bowtie. Tommy adored his daughter, Isabelle Young, and his two grandchildren, June and Murphy Pearson. Tommy was a true southern gentleman, with an endlessly inquisitive and curious mind. He was a warm and kind friend to all and his presence will be sorely missed. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Judith Young Ash. He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Catherine; his daughter, Isabelle (Paul Pearson); his grandchildren; and his four beloved nephews and their families. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Coastal Conservation League or the South Carolina Environmental Law Project. A celebration of Tommy's life will be held later in the fall.