Dorothy Wanda Vaughn

Following a brief illness, Mrs. Dorothy Wanda (Staton) Vaughn went to be with The Lord on her 91st birthday at her home in Skipperville, Alabama. Arrangements for a private family service will be made later through Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark, Alabama.

The youngest daughter of Millard Fillmore and Vina (Rowe) Staton, Dorothy grew up in rural southern Ohio during the Great Depression. As the youngest in a family of seven, Dottie was kept out of the kitchen; consequently, she never learned to cook at home. She acquired her cooking skills later in life and excelled in baking. She enjoyed preparing holiday meals. Her strawberry pies, her pecan pies, her pumpkin pies, and her fruitcakes were wonderful creations.

Dorothy graduated from Oak Hill High School in Ohio and attended nursing school at the Daughters of Charity’s Pensacola Hospital School of Nursing. She became a 2nd Lieutenant nurse in the US Army and lmet her future husband, Guy Vaughn, one of her patients. Dorothy and Guy married in 1950, moved to Germany, then to the United States, later to Vietnam, and then back home again.

Dorothy worked hard to manage her family while her husband was stationed in Korea. She worked as a nurse in Ohio at Kettering Memorial Hospital and at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The importance of hard work and and being self-reliant were values that she instilled in her daughter, Deborah, when Deborah was only in the first grade. After moving to Alabama, she and her husband bought a house in Slapout on Lake Jordan. Dorothy continued working at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery Alabama and ended her career in nursing working for the Alabama State prison system in Wetumpka. After her husband's death, Dorothy continued living at Lake Jordan for four years. Finally - albeit reluctantly - she moved to Skipperville to be nearer to her daughter and to her longtime sparring partner - her son-in-law.

Dorothy was a woman of contradictions. She was fiscally conservative - yet generous to others; she never wanted to be in debt - yet always thanked The Lord; she kept a private religious life - yet prayed daily; she maintained a no-nonsense attitude - yet had a quick sense of humor; she loved to win at bridge, read westerns and romances, enjoyed crossword puzzles, followed Alabama football - yet cheered for Auburn the day preceding her death; she could be hard to please – yet found joy in gardening, hummingbirds, and azure blue Alabama skies. From job descriptions we often see this requirement: “sets high standards for self and others“ - that was Dottie.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Captain Guy V. Vaughn, Captain, USA (Retired); her sisters, Thelma M. Jones and Helen S. Green; and her brothers, Herman R. Staton and Paul L. Staton, USA.

She is survived by two sons, William Michael (and Debi) Vaughn of Huber Heights, Ohio, Mark Edward (and Sharon) Vaughn, and their son, Brian E. Vaughn, of Grady Alabama, her daughter Deborah M. (and Peter) Bruggink of Skipperville, Alabama; and by her niece and her nephews: Linda Jones of Oak Hill, Ohio; Jamie Jones of Chicago, Illinois; Paul Jones of Columbus, Ohio; R. Kevin Jones of Oak Hill, Ohio; David A. Jones of Columbus, Ohio; and Paul Staton, of Troy, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent in Dorothy Vaughn’s name to Friends of Vivian B. Adams School, 2047 Stuart Tarter Road, Ozark, AL 36360, attn: Susan Owens, or the Ozark-Dale County Humane Society Animal Shelter, P. O. Box 2502, Ozark, AL 36361, attn: Joan Neher.