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Established 1948 
 Denison Herald September 4, 1994 Page 2 Graveside services for James Benton Vaughan, 42, of Denison who was found dead Thursday at his residence, were held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Cedarlawn Memorial Park. Judge Lloyd Perkins officiated. Arrangements were under the direction of Dannel Funeral Home. Mr. Vaughan was born in Houston and was the son of Judge R. C. Vaughan and Ona Sutherland Vaughan. He attended Sherman schools, Grayson County College and the University of Texas. He served in the 39th Combat Engineers of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army in Vietnam. Mr. Vaughan had been employed as a salesman for J.C.Penney and had been in general construction. He had also been a substance abuse counselor for Mental Health/Mental Retardation. Mr. Vaughan attended the Baptist Church. Surviving are his parents of Sherman; and brother, Robert Charles Vaughan of Grand Prairie. Pallbearers will be Judge Horace Groff, Denis Cowhig, Richard Kozikowski, Dennis Hutcherson, Dennis Carney, Bob "Randy" Richardson, Steve Mathis and Jim Buchanan.  Senior District Judge (retired) R.C. Vaughan, 94, of Sherman, died early Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman. Judge Vaughan served Sherman and Grayson County for more than 30 years as judge of the 15th District Court, and was a Grayson County historian, newspaper columnist, author and in more county endeavors that any other person. A graveside service for family and friends was held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cedarlawn Memorial Cemetery on Texoma Parkway. Judge Vaughan was born November 18, 1915, near Hollis, Oklahoma, where his parents, Samuel Benton Vaughan and Anna Armilda Hendrix Vaughan farmed for eight years before returning to Grayson County. He attended Golden Rule, Cherry Mound and Denison schools and graduated from Denison High School in 1931 at the age of 15. He enrolled in the University of Texas in September 1932, taking pre-law courses and was a member of the Longhorn Band while a student there. He received his Law degree from UT in May 1938 and opened a law office in Denison in 1939. He was appointed city attorney of Denison in 1941. That same year he married Ona Sutherland of Winnsboro, a registered nurse at the Katy Hospital. They had been married 65 years when she died on December 19, 2006. He enlisted in the Army as a private in 1942, then was accepted for training at the Army Counter Intelligence School and later was appointed a special agent with the CIC in South Texas, New Mexico, and the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. While on the Island of Guadalcanal he was promoted to first lieutenant and later served as Judge Advocate in the Judge Advocate General Corps. When he was discharged from the Army in 1946 he returned to his law practice with Hal M. Rawlins in Denison. In 1948 he was elected Judge of the Grayson Court at Law, then in 1952 he was elected judge of the 15th Judicial District Court and served in that office until his retirement in 1985, the longest tenure of any elected public official in Grayson County history. Even after retirement he was a "traveling judge," spending many days on the bench in Gainesville and Dallas. In 1992 the Grayson County Law Library in the Sherman courthouse was named in his honor. Through the years he was active in many programs, including the Boy Scouts, the Optimist and Kiwanis clubs, Juvenile Board of Grayson County for 32 years, Juvenile Alternatives and was an organizer of the Grayson County Family Clinic. His service to the community stretches across many organizations throughout the county. He was a past president of the Grayson County Historical Society, a member of the Grayson County Historical Commission and the Texas Historical Commission. He was a trustee of the Old Settlers Association, past president of Grayson County Frontier Village, a 50 year member of Lone Star Lodge 403, AF&AM in Denison and held district and grand lodge positions. In 1984 he was named chairman of the Grayson County Sesquicentennial Committee and in 1989 was chairman of the county's bicentennial celebration and later co-chairman of the county Millennium Committee. In 1990 he was awarded the Outstanding Jurist Award by the Texas Bar Foundation. Judge Vaughan began writing a weekly column in the Herald Democrat about Grayson County's colorful history in 1985. Twenty-five years later, his column is still appearing in the newspaper and the number has grown to almost 1,000 columns. In 2007 the Herald Democrat and the Grayson County Millennium Committee co-sponsored the publishing of a book of his columns, "The Life & Times of Grayson County, Texas." The book sold out in one month and has been reprinted. The Judge was preceded in death by one son, James Benton Vaughan; his parents, former County Commissioner Ben and Anna Vaughan; and one sister, Inez Vaughan Hord and his dear friend, Neilson Rodgers. The family would like to thank his special caregiver, Nelda Burks of Sherman for her kindness with Judge Vaughan. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Charles and Susan Vaughan of Sherman; four grandchildren, Chris Vaughan of Greenville; Laura Kesler and husband, Chris of Washington, D.C.; Kristi Butler and husband, Cody, of Keller; and Elizabeth Porras of Dallas; six great-grandchildren, Austin and Emily Butler of Keller; Megan, Lauryn, Cody, and Shannyn Kesler of Seattle, Washington; two special nieces, Donna Hord Hunt and husband, David of Denison; and Monna Hord Buckley and husband, Newton of McKinney; and several other nieces and nephews.  Cedarlawn Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |
