Ione Youngblood leaves behind $1.2M legacy
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Nearly two years after her death, Youngblood’s estate is being closed and over $1.2 million has been distributed to five organizations ‘ including three that are local.
Magness Library, Families in Crisis and the Humane Society all benefited from three donations of $158,647. The national Arthritis Foundation also received $158,647, while the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville, S.C., received $634,588.
Youngblood battled the results of childhood polio all her life and was confined to a wheelchair.
She never married and was the only child of former Sheriff and County Judge Eldridge Youngblood and his wife, Pauline.
‘It was a surprise to me because she never acted like she had that amount of money,’ said Youngblood’s cousin, Diane Adcock. ‘She was always a good person doing good things for the community.’
Youngblood didn’t let her disability dampen her vibrant spirit. She was active at First Baptist Church and also sang with the Barbersharps.
Youngblood died Feb. 18, 2006. The total amount of her contributions, $1.27 million, began being dispersed over a year ago.
At Families in Crisis, portions of the $158,647 have already been used to pay for staff education and to make some upgrades to the domestic violence shelter. According to board director Ric Kinkade, Families in Crisis court advocates and victim advocates are required to have certain levels of state certification.
‘It’s been a tremendous benefit to us,’ said Kinkade. ‘It has helped with our services and some payroll expenses. A lot of it has gone into the education of our staff.’
Kinkade said the money is far from gone. ‘We weren’t anxious to run out and spend it all,’ he said. ‘We want to make the best use of it we can.’
At Magness Library, the $158,647 has been used for the recently completed library expansion to accompany around $1 million left to the library by the late Gentry Moffitt.
‘She was a school teacher and I never had the chance to meet her, but I heard she loved the library,’ said library director Mary Robbins. ‘I just think it’s marvelous what she’s done.’
Local Humane Society president Andy Anderson says the organization has spent about $50,000 of the money thus far to spay-neuter hundreds of dogs and cats. She says more than anything she wants to make sure the money is used wisely to best benefit animals.
‘It doesn’t take long to spend a lot of money and we don’t want to waste it,’ said Anderson. ‘But here we’ve spent nearly $50,000 on this spay-neuter program and you can’t even tell we’ve made a difference.’
Anderson said the only way to make a meaningful dent in the county’s animal overpopulation problem is for the Warren County Commission to pass a spay-neuter ordinance. However, she says such a move has never received much traction.
As for other uses, Anderson said the Humane Society has used the money to buy doghouses for dogs who were left chained to a tree, with the tree as their only form of shelter. It’s also been used to pay veterinary bills for injured animals.
For her Shriners donation, Youngblood had her name placed on a permanent plaque at the hospital’s marble philanthropic wall.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a one-of-a-kind international health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care. Children up to 18 with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family centered environment at no charge ‘ regardless of financial need.