Earl Jackson Vaughan

But before he departed he stormed his way through life as a multi-talented entrepreneur, bon vivant, and handyman. There was nothing he couldn’t fix, or so he thought. He was never happier than when he was tooling the roads at a ferocious speed, scaring occupants and other travelers to no end. He was a life-long Floridian who grew up amongst the lakes of Central Florida. He was the kind of man who never met a stranger. If you ever met Earl you never forgot him. He could be “Pierre” when traveling through France with his wife Madge or “Pa Claw” after falling from his horse at his farm in Costa Rica while with his grandchildren, and sporting the largest bandage ever seen on one hand.

His accomplishments were legendary. He was thrust into the role of president of his family’s fern nursery shortly after graduating from Duke University, when his father died from an accident. He built it into a servicer of Retail Flower Shops nationwide with the fern business and then was the fist in the country to supply flower shops with premade “Dish Gardens”. He continued to be a leader in Agriculture by being the first to move part of his production to Central America. In Costa Rica he developed 2 farms covering nearly 1000 acres of tropical foliage to feed his Central Florida operation. He never took his eye off the ball, even when he “retired”. You could always count on him to pop into the office and ask the most pointed questions about operations so as to keep his nest egg protected.

But his real love was for the soft Georgia hills and Lake Rabun. He spent as much time there as he could, shuttling back and forth in a succession of airplanes. He was Beechcraft’s biggest supporter, doing things in that Bonanza and then his favorite twin engine Baron that we are sure the manufacturer never intended. Flying 50 feet off the beaches of Costa Rica or scaring the daylights out of the neighbors as he dipped down to the shores of Lake Rabun to announce he was home for the weekend was his style.

We will miss him but he leaves behind a legacy of strong family ties and the wonderful memories of all his friends.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 72 years, Madge Slaughter Vaughan. There are children Jack, (Christine), Bob, and Rick, (Kathryn) and grandchildren, Eliabeth, Katie, Clint, Andy, Rayle, and Graham who will sorely miss their “Pa”.

Memorial Services to be held Saturday June 18, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. at First Presbyterian Church , downtown Orlando