They don’t make guys like William F. “Digger” Young Jr. anymore, his friends said.

“He was the quintessential Butler boy,” said Slippery Rock District Judge Tim Shaffer.

Young, 81, of Butler died Tuesday morning at a friend’s house in Valencia.

He was the Butler County coroner from 1970 to 1999, and was a longtime funeral director with the Young Funeral Home in Butler and West Sunbury.

Robin Young Christy, his daughter and a director at the funeral home, said her father may have had a hemorrhage from the colon surgery he had in February.

She said her father still was active in the funeral home up until his death.

He received his funeral license in 1955 and became a partner in the Young Funeral Home in West Sunbury. In 1970, he bought the former Atwell Funeral Home in Butler.

Bill McCarrier, a Butler County commissioner, spent a lot of time with Young while growing up in West Sunbury.

“I’ve known Digger virtually all my life. He was always like a big brother to me,” McCarrier said.

He said that Young probably gave away as much money as he made helping people and he would do it privately, not trying to get recognition.

Young was involved with the Shriners organization, and he would often dress up as a clown on roller skates in parades. McCarrier said that Young skated at Shriners hospitals around the world and even in Rockefeller Plaza in New York.

His nickname, Digger, was chosen as his clown name. McCarrier said Young had the name for a long time, and it came from his work in the funeral business.

One time, McCarrier said, Young broke his arm during a parade. Young used electrical tape to set his arm, and finished the parade before going to the hospital.

“He was just kind of a legend,” McCarrier said.

Dale Pinkerton, a Butler County commissioner, often clowned with Young in the Shriners.

“He just was a real fun-type person,” Pinkerton said.

He said Young was so good at his clown act that he was invited to Rockefeller Island in the Caribbean to clown for the Rockefeller grandchildren.

Steve Geibel of the Geibel Funeral Home in Butler said his family and Young’s family worked together for decades. The two families often would help each other out by loaning vehicles and manpower.

“He helped us out greatly, and we tried to return the favor,” Geibel said.

Young was past president of the state coroners association.

He also was past president of the Butler County Funeral Director’s Association and a member of the Western Pennsylvania and National funeral director’s associations.

Geibel said Young still attended meetings of these associations as of two months ago.

Shaffer said that he would see Young on a daily basis back when the coroner’s office was in the funeral home and Shaffer’s law office was next door.

He said Young did a lot of free burials for people with no relatives or no money when other funeral directors would not.

“I’m sure there were hundreds of them he did,” Shaffer said.

Denny Rickard, county sheriff from 1982 to 2010, said Young lived more in 81 years than most people could live in two or three lives, and had a great sense of humor.

“Digger could say things and do things that other people could not,” Rickard said.

He recalled a time at an Elks lodge when Young picked up a woman and carried her up the stairs, all on roller skates.

Young had season tickets to Pirates games for decades, and Rickard said he also used to drive an ambulance on the field for Steelers games.

Rickard said Young did as much as he could on a limited budget as coroner, noting that he had a good relationship with former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht and could use his facilities if he needed them.

He also said Young did a lot of good things that most people did not know about, including giving food to people at the holidays.

Jim Lokhaiser of Center Township, a longtime friend, played baseball with Young in the county league in the 1950s. He said Young was a great baseball player, but could not run well because he was bowlegged.

“We used to kid him about that all the time,” Lokhaiser, who sometimes would receive Pirates tickets from Young, said.

About six or seven years ago, a reunion for the county league was arranged. Lokhaiser said Young showed up in a hearse. He pulled a casket out of the back, and opened it to reveal that it was filled with drinks.

“He was a hit at the reunion, believe me,” Lokhaiser said.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and are being handled by the Young Funeral Home in Butler.