You could feel the love and admiration for Young Living Founder D. Gary Young as the community of Chongón, Ecuador, gathered together to celebrate his life on Sunday, May 20. 2018, shortly after he passed away. People young and old made their way to the Young Living Academy to remember a man who changed so many lives— particularly the lives of children, whose futures he impacted forever when he provided them with an education.

Gary collaborated with the local community to build the Young Living Academy in 2009, creating a school of seven teachers and 42 students, which rapidly grew to 83. Now more than 350 students attend. During the celebration, multiple students and those who helped build the Academy shared ways in which the school and Gary himself had impacted their lives.

“Children were desperately in need of an education, so he built a school. Some were homeless, and he gave them homes. They were hungry, and he gave them food. But most importantly, he gave them love. Whenever Gary would go to the school, the kids would come running to greet and hug him.”