'Discarded Wife' Pegi Young Deserves Better

Pegi Young, an activist and singer who founded a school for children with severe disabilities, is the latest woman to be written out of an obituary that focuses mostly on her husband.

The Times of London describes Young, who was also married to Neil Young for 36 years, as a “discarded wife” in its headline. The first paragraph of the obituary focuses on Neil Young’s first encounter with her “tanned good looks, long blond hair and crystal blue eyes.” The obituary goes on to mention Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s success, quote lyrics Young wrote about her, name drop famous male friends, and refer to the children she had with Young as “his children” before mentioning anything about the five albums Pegi Young released or the school she founded. It also includes a breakdown of her husband’s affair with Daryl Hannah before any mention of Young’s life outside her marriage.

According to The Washington Post, Young founded the Bridge School after her son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and organized an annual fundraiser that became “one of pop music’s most respected benefit shows.” She released her debut album in 2007 at age 55.

Young wrote about her divorce in her 2017 album, Raw, but “Discarded Wife” was not among the song titles.