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After Bill Young died Oct. 18 at 82, he was given a funeral befitting a legend. Speakers — including House Speaker John Boehner and high-ranking military officials — praised his skills at crafting legislation and advocating for his constituents.

There was a second theme amid the accolades: Bill Young, family man.

A lengthy photo montage showed the congressman with the three sons (one adopted) and eight grandchildren who resulted from his marriage to Beverly.

But no one mentioned the three children, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren from his marriage to the former Marian Ford. Nor were any of those family members included in the photo presentation.

Then an unscripted moment changed the tenor of the service. It happened 1 hour and 39 minutes in, after speeches from two of Young's sons and a Marine corporal close to the family.

One son stayed behind at the lectern.

"I would also like to say that he also has three other children who are adults," Robert Young announced. He gave their names — Pam, Terry, Kimber — and said that they are "not really speakers" and that he "didn't want to put them on the spot."

"Actually, I don't know what their last names are," he added, eliciting nervous titters from the section closest to the stage reserved for family and friends, including more than 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Afterward, questions swirled about the congressman's first family. Why were they absent from the service and why were their names not included in most obituaries?

Hardly anyone knew it, but two of Bill Young's children mentioned in Robert Young's statement — Pamela Ernest, 63, and Kimber Butts, 59 — were actually seated seven rows from the front during the funeral.

Terry Young watched it on television from home.

Marian doesn't remember exactly when her husband admitted that the child was his. "I asked him if he was messing around and he said no," she said. "But then later on he said he was."

After the birth, Marian said, Bill Young asked her to take a ride with him to the hospital to see Beverly's baby. Marian believes he wanted an arrangement where he could stay married to her but still have a relationship with Angello.

"He didn't want the divorce, actually," she said. "But there was no way I was going to hang around."

Within a few months of Billy Young's birth, Marian filed for divorce. It took about a year. A critical part of the agreement, she said, centered on keeping the affair and the baby a secret.

"My attorney said, 'If all of this comes out, the congressman may be in jeopardy of losing his seat. If we can get alimony from him to keep you from letting everybody know about that, that would be beneficial,' " Marian Young said.

The divorce became final Nov. 15, 1985. Its records were sealed. Eight days later, Young married Beverly in the House prayer room of the U.S. Capitol.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/bill-youngs-first-family-emerges-to-tell-
their-story/2159685

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Young even once claimed that he "never had a son named Terry," his wife said. Asked whether any photos of Young's first family were included in the photo montage at his funeral, Mrs. Young replied: "Hell, no. Why would I do that? Why should they be? They played no part in his life whatsoever. Consider that courtesy of me."

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Terry Young said he and his sisters are coming forward to talk about their father because they believe that in the retelling of the Bill Young story, critical chapters have been left out.

"It's just that if you read the news about his life you would think that he moved to Florida … then married Bev and had three children. We believe the 36 years with Marian were the richest and most productive part of his life."

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After Young's death, Beverly Young sent emails to a number of local politicians asking them to stay away from her husband's funeral. The list included former Gov. Charlie Crist and Jessica Ehrlich, whose father was the lawyer for Marian Young during the divorce, and who sought Young's seat (and lost) in 2012. Beverly Young told the Times the congressman himself had told her to keep those people away from his service.

The emails horrified Terry Young and his sisters. "He would never, ever say that," Terry said.

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More recently, a division within Beverly Young's family emerged over Bill Young's vacant House seat. According to his wife, Young hoped that David Jolly, a lawyer who had served as his aide, would succeed him.
Bill Young II recently told the Times he was unaware of his father having a favorite candidate. He supports Kathleen Peters, Jolly's opponent.
"You have hurt me beyond belief," Beverly Young told Bill Young II after a Dec. 6 Tiger Bay meeting as a Times reporter stood nearby. When asked whether the conflict over endorsements had damaged her relationship with her son, she replied: "I have no relationship."

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The lack of acknowledgment of Young's first family at his funeral angered some, including the congressman's brother. "That upset everybody that I knew, that they pulled that," said Tom Young, 79. "Because if it wasn't for Marian, Bill would not be where he was anyway. She backed him 100 percent. She even made his suits. It's all on one side and the other side is forgotten. It's not right."

On at least that sentiment, the congressman's first three children had a surprising ally at the service. Robert Young, Beverly's son by a previous marriage whom the congressman adopted, stunned nearly everyone when he mentioned the first family. Asked why he decided to speak up and acknowledge their existence at the funeral, he said: "I just didn't think it was fair that they weren't being noticed."

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