Mr. Joe B. Vaughan

Joe was born on March 17, 1934, to Loren and Thelma “Babe” Vaughan in Comanche, Texas. They raised him in Stephenville, Texas, with his older brother and sister.

Joe entered The University of Texas at Austin to study engineering. While on the Forty Acres, he met his soon-to-be wife Pat (Alethea Patricia Kelley). Pat convinced him to change his major from engineering to philosophy because it offered more flexibility in analyzing reality as opposed to the rigid constructions of the physical world demanded by the study of engineering. Joe minored in engineering, and after graduation worked in the aerospace industry, eventually becoming a successful—and philosophical—rocket scientist.

Joe and Pat were married in 1955. They settled in Grand Prairie, Texas, and raised their family of two sons and two daughters.

Joe enjoyed a long career as a rocket scientist at Lockheed Martin. He enjoyed the daunting challenges of his highly technical pursuit and finding creative solutions to complex engineering problems, including the time he built a guidance computer for a French anti-shipping missile from scratch on his Lockheed test bench. His computer was mounted in a test missile, shipped to France, and fired at a target vessel. The missile slammed into the vessel’s side at Mach 4 (4 times the speed of sound) before splashing into 3 fathoms of water. French scuba divers retrieved the missile after 2 months and sent the computer back to Joe at Lockheed in Texas. He changed the batteries and was delighted when the little computer rebooted, ready for service, prompting Joe’s boss to say “There you go again over-engineering everything…”

Joe retired in the early 1990s, but never stopped sharing his love and passion for science and design with his family. He was a huge fan of Irish music, Dixieland jazz, Waylon Jennings, homemade Texas Chili (with beans), good science fiction, and University of Texas Longhorn football.

Joe is survived by his son Joe Jr., daughters Laura and Patty, son in law Lance, granddaughter Meghan, grandson Lance, daughter in law Rhonda, and granddaughters Rachel, and Elizabeth.

He was preceded in death by his soulmate Pat and their son John.

He will be missed.

A celebration of Joe's life will be held at 3:00 pm on June 10. 2022 at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home at 5725 Colleyville Blvd, Colleyville, TX 76034.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bluebonnethills.com for the Vaughan family.