Gene Autry Vaughan

Gene Autry Vaughan, 82, went home to be with the Lord, whom he loved and served, on Saturday, February 23, 2019. He was born June 16, 1936, in Petersburg, Virginia, son of the late E.L. Vaughan of Ford, VA, and the late Martha (Mattie) Jane Kerr Vaughan of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Gene sang on street corners, worked in a tablecloth factory, as well as at Seward Luggage before joining the Army National Guard at 17, where he served for approximately 10 years as a M1 Rocket Launcher Gunner in Company G. He retired from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, as a Maintenance Machine Mechanic for 29 years. He retired from the Hopewell City School district, serving as a school bus mechanic for nearly 20 years. One of his greatest professional joys was doing maintenance on the buses so they ran students safe and sound to their school and home. He resided in the Petersburg/Dinwiddie area his entire life, and was a member of Southside Baptist Church. Gene taught Sunday school for over 33 years, worked in the bus ministry, and also helped with Junior Church. After the death of his own father when he was 9 years old, and seeing the struggle his mother had without transportation, Gene always worked on widow’s cars, accepting no money in return for his labor. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Carolyn Gayle; son, Rick; 3 brothers, William Vaughan, Memphis, TN, E.H. Vaughan, Tampa, FL, Les Vaughan, Hopewell, VA; sister, Jane Averill, Orlando, FL. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Terri and Scott Willms of Newton, NC, his granddaughter, Brittney and husband Miran Grujic, and great-grandchildren, Mila and Darko Grujic of Alexandria, VA. His sister, Jacqueline Bailey and husband, Ben, of Hopewell, VA. His sister in law, Janet Kramm, Charlottesville, VA, brother in laws and their wives: Tommy and Bernadette Worley of Prince George, VA, and Jerry and Margaret Worley of Sutherland, VA, Judy Williams Harris, Petersburg, VA, and Barbara Glenn Worley, Dinwiddie, VA. Numerous nieces and nephews whom he loved and prayed for daily. Gene will be remembered for his strong work ethic, his love to laugh, his consistent prayer life, his faithfulness and love for being able to worship freely and sing gospel music with fellow Christians, and his love of bread (“You have any bread? Where’s the bread?”). Family wishes to express their appreciation to Gene’s dear friends in later life: Sharon Fisher (and family), and Pete and Tricia Lewis. A graveside service will be held at 11am on Saturday, March 9th, at Blandford Cemetery. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com .