Rev. Thomas Earl Vaughn Sr.

LEXINGTON: Services for Rev. Thomas Earl Vaughn, Sr., 85, will be held at 10am on Thursday, June 29, 2006, at Street Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Ed Carney, Rev. Fred S. Miller, and Rev. Todd Carnes. Burial will be held in the Vaughn Cemetery at Fairview Baptist Church, Greer, SC at 3:30pm, officiated by Rev. Billy Earl Vaughn. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8pm Wednesday, June 28, 2006, at Thompson Funeral Home of West Columbia. Honorary pallbearers will be the Directors of Southern Church Mutual Insurance Co. and any ministers attending. Serving as pallbearers will be Weldon Fallaw, Chris Freeman, Bob Malpass, David Thomas, Luke Clonts, Matthew Scheibler, Rev. Fred Orr, Arthur H. Gross, Jr. and Bill Hornsby. Memorials may be made to Bethea Baptist Retirement Community, Box 4000, Darlington, SC 29532 or to the South Carolina Baptist Convention ministries.

Rev. Vaughn died Sunday, June 25, 2006, at Lexington, SC after a short illness resultant of Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Born in Greer, SC, he was the son of the late Archie Gaines and Melissa Elizabeth Peace Vaughn. He graduated from Greer High School, Mars Hill College, Furman University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. He was a servant of Jesus Christ in ministry as a Baptist minister for over 60 years. He served the following churches as pastor: Antioch Baptist Church, Enoree, SC; Maple Baptist Church, Conway, SC; Westside Baptist Church, Union, SC; and State Street Baptist Church, Cayce, SC. He retired from the South Carolina Baptist Convention as the field representative of the Southern Baptist Convention Annuity Board. He was a dramatist, portraying Biblical characters for audiences across North and South Carolina and the Southern Baptist Convention. In retirement, he served numerous churches as interim pastor and held many drama revivals until the age of 83.

Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Bess McManus Vaughn; son, Thomas Earl Vaughn, Jr. (wife Gail Beyer Vaughn and their daughter, Georgia Bess Vaughn); two daughters, Elizabeth Freeman (husband George W. Freeman, daughter, Stacee E. Sherer, son, Christopher G. Freeman); and Esther Clonts (husband D. Craig Clonts, daughter Dani Marie Thomas, son Luke Clonts); five grandchildren and five great grandchildren; one sister, Mrs. Merle Mullins of Greer, SC.

www.thompsonsfuneral.com