Styx revealed some sad news this week, revealing that guitarist James Young’s wife of 50 years has died. In a post on social media, the band wrote. On behalf of the Styx Family: It is with a heavy heart that we share the news with you that Susan Young passed away on November 10th, 2022.”
The statement continued, “She passed away peacefully at home with her devoted husband of 50 years, James ‘JY’ Young, by her side. Susie was a tireless advocate for her husband’s rock n’ roll career in the band Styx. She often spent years on end traveling with him and the Styx team on the road so they could be together. She was a constant source of encouragement and ‘wardrobe suggestions.’ JY and Susie were truly inseparable. Susie was beloved by all and will always be remembered.”
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There are very few details available about Susan Young’s death, but Legacy.com notes that she was born in 1950. The obituary on Johnson-Nosek Funeral Home and Cremation Services is very brief, simply stating, “Susan G. Young nee Godsted, age 71 of Western Springs. Beloved wife of James V. Young.” No cause of death has been provided.
In a previous interview with Creative Loafing, Young revealed that his wife “had a stroke several years back. She is immobile. She isn’t paralyzed on her right side, but she essentially has no use for her right arm or leg.” When asked in that same interview why he had not been part of Styx’s writing process as of late, Young said, “Honestly, it’s my commitment to my better half, who’s been with me through thick and thin dating back to the beginning of STYX, which was February 22, 1972, when we signed the first recording contract.”
He went on to share, “My wife and I were dating at the time, and we moved in together before we were married, which alarmed my extremely traditional parents. Later that year, we got married.Then, the debut STYX album was released, I obtained a respectable job, and things started to go our way.”
Young later added, “However, the epidemic just kind of knocked her for a loop, and I felt like I had to stay at her side. I had a vague notion that my professional days were numbered. The good news is that I sort of fit in with the band, though. Because my grandfather owned a construction business, I dealt with lawyers and accountants regularly because I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs.”ย
