Arlene Helen Vaughn

Arlene Helen Fenrick Vaughn went to her Eternal Home on February 6, 2024, at the age of 97 1/2 years. Her lion’s heart finally stopped beating, and she joined our father, sister, and other loved ones for a blessed reunion. Mother was the true matriarch of our family, and her strength, faith, loyalty, dedication, intelligence and independence was an inspiration to all.

She was proud to have grown up as a farmer’s daughter in Wisconsin. She was ahead of her times in so many ways but mostly, loved and cherished her family. She and dad shared almost 63 years together; raised 6 children, and enjoyed many grandchildren and great grandchildren. We have borrowed the words of one of her granddaughters that best highlight mom. We love and miss you, mom, and you will always remain in our hearts - and your voice in our heads.

“When you think about someone who truly lived through and saw it all, who comes to mind?

My Grandma was the single most incredible soul I have ever known. Not person. Soul. My grandma was the epitome of the word “soul”. She felt and thought and considered and loved more deeply than anyone I think I’ll ever know.

She was thoughtful and passionate and fierce and, even though she didn’t have the opportunity to have a formal education past middle school, she was the wisest, most incredibly dedicated student of so many disciplines by her own doing. She studied and scoured the beliefs and practices of multiple religions for as long as I’ve ever known. She was the most tech-savvy, pushing 100 years-old woman out there. Facebook, Instagram, email, text message emoji QUEEN in all the land, because she wanted to be able to live with and through her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, who are spread out all over the country she loved so much, stateside and as far as Kauai.

She was fervent and devoted to her beliefs, but she would want to seek and know about yours, and she would listen to and not just hear you, sometimes for hours.

She called out bullshit yet tolerated and more often showed great compassion for the underdog, never giving up hope for someone or something to grow through what they were going through.

The world was her greatest classroom, and she saw and relished in her experiences in and around it with my Grandpa, the Sergeant Major, with whom she shared the greatest love story in endless support and patience and partnership over decades and decades of adventures, joys, sorrows, and plain old fun.

I could (and should) write a book on this woman’s heart, and her soul. She was and had such an amazing soul. I’ll never forget you, Granny Goose. I’m so happy you’re finally back with Grandpa and all of the others you’ve been missing and I know I’ll see you again someday in one of the versions of Heaven that you’ll be in”.

💕🩷❤️😭💞👏🏼🧖♀️💃👑🐠🌻🌸🌹🌼🌝🌞💫🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸