Pine Village - Joan Elizabeth (Bartlett) Vaughn, 98, formerly of Williamsport, passed away on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 6:43 a.m. in the Creasy Springs Health Campus, Lafayette, with her family by her side.
Joan was born on April 2, 1926 in Watseka, IL.  She was the daughter of the late Robert and Clara (High) Bartlett.  Joan was a member of the Williamsport Christian Church and a skilled equestrian who enjoyed riding with her father while competing in horse shows and parades in and around Indiana and Illinois.  She attended Tab, Pence and Ambia schools.  Immediately following her high school graduation from Williamsport High School in Williamsport, Indiana she moved to Houston, Texas and enrolled in the University of Houston Business School.  She returned to Williamsport in 1946 and married Boyd G. Vaughn Jr. On November 30, 1946 which ended in 1963 followed by remarriage on September 4, 1977.
Joan and her husband moved to Decatur, Indiana shortly after marriage. She worked at Central Soya in the bookkeeping department.  She and her husband and best friends, Max and Fae Lodgson, went on to found and share ownership positions of V & L Feed Store in Brookston, Indiana and later she and her husband started Terminal Sales in Monticello, Indiana.  Over the first 14 years of their marriage, Joan organized and was president of "Young at Heart" Home Economics in Wolcott, Indiana; White County Girl Scout chairman during which time she organized and helped establish 12 troops, served as president of Adams Township of Young Matrons and was County President of Home Economics for two years.  Following the birth of their fourth child, Joan held positions at Sears, Loeb's, Purdue University and Lafayette Motor Lodge, and trained as a CNA at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana.  She went on to do private nursing in Palm Springs, California for prominent people in the entertainment world.  She returned to Warren County and became a Charter EMT member employed by the Warren County Ambulance Service, worked with the Warren County School Corporation as one of their bus drivers, was co-owner with her husband of E-Z Company; was Secretary/Treasurer of the Pine Village Cemetery for several years and a volunteer at the Williamsport Nursing Home.  In recent years, Joan was awarded numerous plaques for her volunteer work a the St. Vincent Hospital Gift Shop in Williamsport.
A few years ago in Attica at a diner, a man said "I know who she is!"  He only knew what he thought he knew....  Joan loved life, was quick to denounce "can't" or deflect responsibility as the answer to a problem and practiced humility, the joy of laughter.  She loved her children and never wavered in her faith in God.
Joan is survived by two children, Patricia Eller, San Antonio, TX and David W. Vaughn, Pine Village; her beloved daughter-in-law, Eunice Vaughn (David's wife); seven grandchildren, Althea Conklin, Evelyn (Pam) Haber, Chad Watson, Crystal (Rob) Anthrop, Samantha (Russ) Runyon, Eric Vaughn and Ronda Dell'Ario; thirteen great-grandchildren, Blake Runyon, Christopher Runyon, Kayla Urbina, Liberty (Trevor) Schaeffer, Angela Eller, MacLeod Gleye, Luke Conklin, Hannah Conklin, Gage Schildroth, Kaitlin (Conner) Hayslip, Ryan Anthrop, Kaysie Anthrop, Jasmyn Vaughn and  Kobe Watson; three great great-grandchildren, Nicholas Carasso IV, Allison Carasso and Carsen Haysip.  Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Boyd G. Vaughn Jr.; two sons, Charles and Jason Vaughn; a granddaughter, Andrea Haber; her parents, Robert and Clara Bartlett; two sisters, Evelyn Bartlett and Nedra Stump; Grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Fax Bartlett and Mrs. & Mrs. William High; her mother and father-in-law, Boyd G. & Ruth Vaughn Sr.
Friends may call at the Maus Funeral Home, Attica, on Wednesday, October 16th from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.  Funeral services will be held in the Williamsport Christian Church, 20 E. Third St., Williamsport,  on Thursday, October 17th, at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Jesse Stoner officiating.  Burial will follow in the Pine Village Cemetery.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Williamsport Christian Church or the Warren County Ambulance Service.