Wayne Young has said he's not a hero. He's just an average guy who works, serves, dresses up as Santa Claus at Christmas, loves his wife, children and grandchildren and understands another father's pain.

He died Friday in a one-car accident in Michigan. He was 63.

Young, a dentist who lived in Alpine, was driving when his car veered off the road and hit a sign, said his daughter, Tammy Macy. As of Monday, the family was unsure what caused him to swerve.

He was in Michigan to watch the World Series and attend a class reunion; Young went to school at the University of Michigan and wanted to attend a football game on Friday night.

"The thing I like most about my dad is he was very passionate about things that he did," she said.

In July, Young took a trip to the North Pole. The world traveler, who had flown around Mount Everest, criss-crossed Europe and explored dozens of other countries, was humbly excited at the prospect of standing where few people had ever stood. He called the Daily Herald from the top of the world, about 2 a.m. Utah time, pleased that the geographic north was ice that time instead of water, so he could accomplish his goal. The next trip would have been to Antarctica with his wife, Nancy.

Macy said when he planned his globe-trotting, Young would devote all his energy to it, trying to make everybody around him feel like they were part of his experiences. A few times she even went with him.

He loved his dog, his family -- four sons and two daughters -- Michigan football, traveling and new gadgets, she said. He enjoyed using the latest technological craze and then showing it off to friends and family.

Last year he participated in the three-day mountain search for Garrett Bardsley, taking off work to train searchers. He couldn't handle the physical strain of actually searching, he said. So he contributed however he could, even if it meant numerous days sleeping on the hard ground through freezing temperatures. He did it because he had lost a son, Young said at the time.

He also donated his professional capabilities, including working with Medicaid and local hospitals to provide dental care to low-income patients. Plus, because of his long history, Young encouraged other dentists to get involved as well.

"Not very many dentists are able to work in the hospital setting," Macy said.

Dr. William Cerny, a dentist in Young's three-city dental practice, said his first impression of Young was that they were an answer to each other's prayers. Cerny wanted to relocate from Houston to Utah; Young wanted to find another dentist to do root canals, a part of the practice he didn't like.

"And I came through the door," Cerny said with a laugh.

The offices of Young Family Dental, in Orem, American Fork and Saratoga Springs, are a close-knit group that includes two of Young's sons; all took the loss hard, he said, remembering how he just went numb Saturday when he heard the news.

Four of Young's six children followed him into the dental field, while one son became a doctor. Macy said their father never encouraged them to do it, but somehow they all ended up in health care. If anything, he discouraged the fields because of the high stress level, all the while introducing her to patients when she was his hygienist.

"He was so proud of us," she said.

Young's funeral is Saturday in Alpine with a viewing from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Berg Mortuary, 500 N. State St. in Orem.

Heidi Toth can be reached at 344-2543 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.