Rebekah Troutman

Rebekah Vaughn Troutman peacefully passed away the night of July 15, 2009.
She was born in Selma on Nov. 7, 1944, the daughter of John Henry Vaughn and Nell Tucker Vaughn.
She began her college freshman year at Howard (later Samford) University, where she met William Wayne Troutman, whom she later wed. After graduating from Samford, the couple enjoyed their newlywed years in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Malisa Vaughn was born to the couple in 1970, followed by John William in 1973. The next year, the family relocated to Dothan. Rebekah taught kindergarten and preschool at Evergreen Presbyterian Church from 1976 through 1979 and taught at East Highland Elementary the next year.
In 1980, she began serving as director/teacher for Dothan City School's Head Start Program. While working with Dothan's Head Start children and helping to establish the Alfred Saliba Family Services Center, she earned a doctorate in education in 2003 and retired in 2008 as the director of Early Childhood Education Services for DCS.
Rebekah served as a board member for several organizations and community services over the years, including the Houston County Children's Policy Council, the Alfred Saliba Family Services Center, the Council for Exceptional Children, the Governor's Task Force for Strengthening Alabama's Children, the Voices for Alabama's Children, the Dothan/Houston County Association of Retarded Citizens, the Alabama Head Start Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. U.S. Congressman Carl Elliot honored her for her service to Alabama's children. In addition to her professional work, she and her family enjoyed an active membership in Dothan's First Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday school and served on the finance committee for a number of years.
She was preceded in death by her parents and in 1988 by her husband.
She is survived by her children, Malisa Troutman, Ph.D., of New York, N.Y., and John Troutman, Ph.D., of Lafayette, La.; her brother, John Robert Vaughn of Tucson, Ariz.; and her grandson, John Florian Troutman.
The family would like to recognize her friends and loved ones in Dothan and the remarkable staff, administrators and educators within the Dothan City Schools system.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rebekah Troutman's name to the Alfred Saliba Family Services Center, 545 W. Main St., Suite 100, Dothan, AL 36301.