Holly Young Bahr

Holly Young Bahr passed away at home on December 11, 2025 with her husband Gary and daughter Katelyn by her side. After five difficult days in the hospital, she was happy to be home. Katelyn had to assure her it wasn’t a dream. Holly spent her final day and a half on hospice, surrounded by love. Even though we weren’t ready, she went home to her Heavenly Father, her earthly father, and her son Kyle.

Holly fought NETs cancer for decades – a disease so rare its ribbon is zebra-striped. A rare zebra herself, Holly was kind, loving, and endlessly social. To her there were no strangers, only friends she hadn’t met yet.

Born on October 11, 1964 to Larry LeRoy Young and Iris Kay Pratt Young, Holly was a long-awaited miracle. After years of trying, her parents were about to sign adoption papers when they learned they were expecting. They named her Holly because they got the good news in December.

Holly grew up with three sisters and two brothers. She loved camping in the mountains, trips to Idaho to visit grandparents, and summer games of kick-the-can and hide-and-seek. A lightning-fast reader, Holly zipped through Gone with the Wind in two days and could remember details months later. When she was 10, she checked 30 books out of the Bountiful City Library, then had to immediately return 20 of them because she couldn’t carry them all home. That’s when the library set a 10-book limit!

A social butterfly, Holly attended every dance and game in high school possible. After graduating from Bountiful High, she studied at the University of Utah while working as a custodian at the Church Office Building – back when working part-time could actually pay for tuition, fees, and books. She also studied at DATC and SLCC.

An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Holly served in the Texas San Antonio Mission – mostly in towns along the Mexican border. Some of her later church callings included counselor, teacher, den mother, activity days leader, ward librarian, and Genealogy Committee member. Holly loved family history and spent countless hours researching ancestors and memorizing their stories. There’s surely a big, happy family reunion on the other side.

After her mission, Holly worked as a custodian on Temple Square, where she met Gary. She asked him to a dance; he asked her to dinner. On Christmas Day 1990, he proposed. They married in the Salt Lake Temple in May of 1991. They adopted two children: Kyle from Atlanta and Katelyn from Detroit. Holly loved being a mom. Kyle was outgoing, larger-than-life, and endlessly energetic. Katelyn was steady, funny, and always looking out for her parents. Holly worked in childcare then as a lunch lady at Jefferson Jr. High until illness made it impossible.

Holly loved animals, especially cats. Over the years she had many, including her childhood Siamese cat, Kiki, and later Sebastian, Shelby, Blossom, and Starr. She also adored the family’s dogs, Andre and Maple, and bearded dragon, Falkor.

2025 was a hard year. Kyle passed in July, her dad in August, and her Uncle Roger in October. Through it all, Holly stayed strong. Even when painful medical procedures became routine, she never complained. One of her last happy outings was her nephew Lincoln’s baptism, on her birthday. She loved sharing the day with him and celebrating with cake.

Holly is survived by her mother Iris, husband Gary, daughter Katelyn, mother-in-law Mary, siblings Lila, Heidi, Sheri, Becky (Ray), Christopher (Christy), and David, and numerous brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

Holly is preceded in death by her father Larry, son Kyle, father-in-law Cecil, mother-in-law Barbara, sister Jo Linda, grandparents, and several brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

Viewing & Funeral Bountiful 20th Ward – 102 East 1400 South, Bountiful, UT Viewing: Friday December 19, 9:00–10:45 am Funeral: Friday December 19, 11:00 am

https://zoom.us/j/96737768308?pwd=bHF6TFVXV2kyc1lMYndPQiswdFpOUT09.

Graveside Service Bountiful City Cemetery – 2224 South 200 West, Bountiful, UT Friday December 19, immediately following the funeral