Paul E. Young spent much of his life working in the steel and machine industry of Washington County, but his passion was ice skating.

The 85-year-old Washington, Pa., resident died Friday, 23 years after he and his wife, Jean, made their hobby a reality by opening a skate shop that catered to local enthusiasts and Olympic champions alike.

Mr. Young built and sharpened skates for a number of national figure skating champions and Olympic athletes, including Caryn Kadavy, a four-time national medalist and 1988 Olympian, Suzanne Semenick, also of the 1988 Olympic games in Calgary, and Michael Sebert, of the 1984 Olympic games in Sarajevo.

"He put them all in their first skates," Jean Young said of Sebert, Semenick and Kadavy.

Mr. Young was born in Washington on Nov. 16, 1918, the son of Oscar Wilson and Annie Heidelmeier Young. He graduated from Trinity High School in 1936, and had attended Washington and Jefferson College. He and Jean Albright were married on Nov. 24, 1951.

He served as a pilot in the Army Air Forces in World War II, flying B-24 missions in the Pacific Theater, and later in the Air National Guard and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol.

Mr. Young was a foundry worker with Washington Tin Plate and spent 29 years at Washington Mould & Foundry, where he eventually was named plant superintendent. He went on to work for Crile Machine, Moly Corp., and National Annealing Box.

He was a member of First Lutheran Church of Washington, serving as a youth group adviser and council member. He also was active in a number of masonic and veterans groups and was a service life member of the American Foundryman's Society, Pittsburgh Chapter.

Mr. Young and his wife were charter members of the first ice skating club in the area, Ice and Blades of Washington, which later became the Mt. Lebanon Figure Skating Club. The couple met professional skaters and customers through their work in the club and frequently invited out-of-town customers to spend the night at their home.

The couple opened Young's Skate Shop on Wheeling Street in Washington after Mr. Young constructed a skate sharpener and honed his skills at making custom skates -- a hobby he'd been working on for years.

He quickly gained a national reputation for his sharp blades and his mounting and fitting skills which focused on maintaining a proper balance tailored to each skater's body. It's unclear what will become of the shop, which has been closed since March.

Kadavy, 36, who went on to win seven professional championships after the Olympics, said she's been bringing her skates to Mr. Young since she was 7 years old. The Erie native spent summers in McKees Rocks with her grandparents, where she heard about Mr. Young's sharpening skills. She was not disappointed.

"I would always go to him," said Kadavy, who visited with Mr. Young shortly before his death last week.

"He was a wonderful man as well as a master at what he did with skates."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Margaret A. "Peg" Young, of Boulder, Colo.; a brother, Earl R. "Pete" Young, of Washington; and two sisters, Agnes Powell and Elma Barnhart, both of Washington.

Services will be held at 11 this morning in First Lutheran Church, North Franklin and Walnut streets, Washington. Burial will follow in Washington Cemetery.

The family requests memorial donations be made to First Lutheran Church or a charity of the donor's choice.