Thomas and Dorothy Vaughan

Thomas James Vaughan passed away peacefully, at age 97, surrounded by family and loving caregivers on March 14, 2017. His beloved wife, Dorothy Jane Vaughan did the same 9 days later at age 95. True soulmates and always having been together, they are together again. Tom was born in Weatherford, Texas in 1919. He moved to California with his parents when he was 18, in 1937. Dorothy was born in San Diego, California in 1921 and moved with her family to Los Angeles a few years later. Tom and Dorothy met (when she was Dorothy Palmer) in Los Angeles and they married on his birthday in 1939. He always joked that he would never have to worry about forgetting their anniversary! They were married for 77+ years. Tom served in the navy from 1943 to 1945 as an electrician on the U.S.S Ajax. He was one of the original crew, a fact of which he was extremely proud. He was rarely seen without his commemorative cap which he was awarded in a ceremony many years later honoring the crew. During this time, Dorothy worked as a teller at Bank of America. Tom and Dorothy lived in Los Angeles from 1945 to 1961, during which time they had two daughters, Linda and Nancy. The family moved to Rialto, California in 1961 and Tom, with the help of his father, Homer and Dorothy's brother, Chuck, built the home where the family lived. Tom and Dorothy lived there 53 years. Until his retirement, Tom worked as an electrician for the Rialto Unified School District. Dorothy worked in the circulation department of the Sun Telegram newspaper until her retirement. During the years the family was in Los Angeles, Tom and Dorothy and daughters went on many cross-country road trips and visited one of their favorite places, Yosemite, every year. Tom loved to grow vegetables and fruit and had a garden until his later years. Dorothy took great pride in canning the surplus and her plum sauce was a family favorite. Tom was the ultimate 'handyman' who could fix anything and if he couldn't fix it, he'd make something new to take its place! Dorothy was the ultimate 'homemaker ', caring for the home, cooking wonderful meals (her chicken piccata was second to none), being a gracious hostess and making sure everyone else was ok. Tom was a mason, which was very important to him. He was a member of the Inland Empire Masonic Lodge 306 for 60 years. Dorothy was a member of Order of the Eastern Star, Riverside Chapter 622 for over 50 years. When Tom and Dorothy needed full time health care assistance in 2015, they were relocated to Driftwood Health Care Center in Santa Cruz, California to be close to family. They spent the last 2 years of their lives being lovingly cared for by the staff at Driftwood and their family. Tom was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and Dorothy was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother. They spent many happy hours with their beloved family. Tom was preceded in death by his brother, Walter Vaughan, his father Homer Vaughan, and his mother, Mattie Vaughan. Dorothy was preceded in death by her father, Charles Palmer, her mother Delia Palmer, her sisters May and Frances and brothers Lee, Frank and Chuck. Both Tom and Dorothy were preceded in death by their daughter, Nancy Duncan. Tom and Dorothy leave behind their daughter Linda Vaughan and her fiance Mark Rovan, granddaughter Kelly Janow, grandson Tommy Janow, granddaughter Shannon Duncan and 3 great grandchildren. Tom and Dorothy were, and always will be, greatly loved and will be deeply missed. A private family memorial will be held at a later date.