Jo Vaughn

Obituary for Our Sweet Mother

Eddie Jo Vaughn, youngest daughter of Edmund and Suella Mueller, born January 6, 1932, passed peacefully into heaven in her sleep on August 30, 2026. She leaves behind her daughters Shelley (and Curtis) Pritchard, and Sue Ellen (and Pete) Veteto, five grandchildren: Eric (and Paula) Pritchard, Cara (and David) Beachboard, Pamela (and Ryan) Dorn, Kevin (and Rebecca) Smith and Jena (and John) Akers. She also leaves a legacy for nine great-grandchildren: Aidan, Wynne, Jubilee, Conrad, Finley, Daisy, Charlie, Carson and Jo-Jo.

Jo (Mother, Mom, Grandma Vaughn) graduated from high school at 17 and married Roy (Daddy, Grandpa Vaughn), her husband of 71 years, the following year. They traveled all around Texas and into Mexico following the oil rigs, where Roy was a “roughneck”. She loved to bake, and said that early in their marriage she baked a pie every day for Roy and their friends to share. Everyone raved about her strawberry, coconut and lemon meringue pies throughout her lifetime. She was still collecting and trying out new recipes during the last month of her life.

Mom was fun-loving with a great sense of humor. She always laughed at Roy’s jokes no matter how many times she’d heard them. Jo was an amazing lady with a strong adventurous spirit. She and Roy re-invented their lives when they decided to move from McAllen, Texas to Seattle in 1962 after visiting the city for three weeks. Daddy obtained a job and Mother took Shelley and Sue Ellen back to Texas on a bus where they packed up their house, loaded everything they could into and on top of their older Cadillac and drove back to Seattle, along with the family dog, Lady, who squished into the front seat with them. (The back seat was totally stuffed with household goods.) Mother was only 30 years old.

Mother loved to play games, including canasta, spades, pinochle and 42, along with Mexican Train (her favorite in recent years). She also enjoyed gardening and grew both vegetables and flowers, delighting in watching them grow. She and Daddy loved camping with friends, sometimes sleeping in the open getting covered with dew, then graduating to a tent and finally RV’s. Mt. Rainier was HER mountain! She and Daddy also escaped the rain with many trips to Waikiki.

Jo, a great homemaker, could stretch a dollar until it bled. She and Roy were very hospitable, inviting and welcoming people (friends and strangers) into their home, feeding them delicious meals and always, dessert. After the girls were in their teens, Mother worked at Safeco and later became the bookkeeper for Roy’s Plumbing.

Mom made another huge move last year when Shelley and Sue Ellen decided to leave the Northwest for the Southeast, taking her with them. Although it was a hard challenge, with some unexpected health issues thrown in, Jo survived and was thriving in North Carolina in her remodeled cottage, with a new church family and was busy making new friends.

She loved her family fiercely and that love was only surpassed by her love for and faith in Jesus. We will all miss her dearly, but are comforted by the knowledge that she’s happy and whole in His arms.

A favorite text of hers from John 14: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; …I am going there to prepare a place for you…and I will come back and take you to be with me.

(The following song was requested by Jo to be sung at her memorial.)

1. The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks,
The summer morn I’ve sighed for, the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
2. Oh! Christ He is the fountain, the deep sweet well of Love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted, more deep I’ll drink above:
There, to an ocean fullness, His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
3. I’ve wrestled on towards Heaven, ‘Ganst storm, and wind, and tide;
Now, like a weary traveler, that leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening, while sinks life’s lingering sand,
I hail the glory dawning in Immanuel’s land.
4. With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
And aye the dews of sorrow were brightened by His love!
I’ll bless the hand that guided, I’ll bless the heart that planned,
When throned where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
5. The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of Grace—
Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand:
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.
“The Sands of Time Are Sinking”
Words based on the Letters of Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)
From Immanuel’s Land and Other Pieces by Anne Ross Cousin (1857)
Music arranged from Chrétien Urhan (1834) by Edward F. Rimbault (1867)
©Public Domain