Franklin D. Vaughn's Obituary
Franklin Delano Vaughn was born in Eckman, West Virginia on November 10th, 1932 to Money Vaughn (deceased) and Dessa Hall Vaughn Bowman (deceased). His mom later married Claude Bowman (deceased) who was a father figure to him. Frank married Janice Ellen Dillard on August 16th, 1952 and they remained married for nearly 65 years. They had five children, Diane Ruth (deceased 1962), Nancy Ellen (Richard Jefferson), Chris Franklin (Ursel Sawatzki), Charles Martin (Melanie Cingle) and Brian Andrew (Lynn Duby, significant other). Frank had four sisters, Emma, Edna and Evelyn (all deceased) and survived by his older sister Gladys. Also survived by two half-sisters, Jean Elgin and Sue Shotto and two half-brothers, Roger and Larry Bowman. Frank is also survived by seven grandchildren, Kevin, Ryan, Kristina, Jennifer, Aaron, Valerie and Nicholas and six great-grandchildren, Caitlyn, Courtney, Devin, Zoe, Logan and Malia.
At age 16, Frank somehow managed to enlist in the Air Force, although underage. He spent about 6 months in service until some older, wiser NCOs discovered how young he was and encouraged him to get out. He received an honorable discharge just before the Korean War started.
Frank had a great work ethic and worked hard all his life to provide for his family. Some of the places he worked included coal mines in West Virginia, Chevrolet plant in Parma, drove a bus for CTS, Medina Supply, Cleveland Builders, then Stein Inc. In addition to these Frank also worked as a Fuller Brush Man and sold Lifetime Cookware.
Frank was also a good story teller as can be attested by family and friends. He had many stories about growing up in Eckman, West Virginia and more accounts of the various jobs he had including how he sold Fuller Brush products and Lifetime Cookware. Frank had the unique ability to continue a story exactly where he left off even after getting interrupted. He was very outgoing and never met a stranger, those who knew him could easily see how he could do well in direct sales.
His love of animals was evident. Frank was kind to all animals and did his best to take care of all of them he came into contact with. His affection for animals is evidenced by each of his children who seem to have his same knack for taking care of all God’s creatures. This love also carried on down to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Although he didn’t have too many hobbies, he did love music. One of his favorite songs was Snow Bird by Ann Murray. A little known secret he mainly kept to himself was he was a good singer. He had a nice tenor voice.
Frank passed away on Saturday, 24 June 2017 at the Diplomat Healthcare in North Royalton. He is loved and will be missed.
Visitation will take place on Saturday, July 1, 2017 from 12 – 2 PM at the Sunset Chapel, 6245 Columbia Rd., North Olmsted, OH 44070 where funeral services will commence at 2 PM. Burial to follow in Sunset Memorial Park, North Olmsted, OH 44070. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to your favorite local animal shelter.
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