Anna Muye Vaughn
Beloved mother grandmother and great-grandmother Mrs. Anna Muye Vaughn was born July 13, 1921, in Springfield, Ohio to George John Muye and Flornce Baker Muye. The Muye family relocated to rural Kentucky during the Depression where a young Anna walked several hilly miles to the nearest bus stop often lugging a heavy typewriter. An accomplished musician she sang in the school choir and often played the piano for gatherings. She and several young people including her future husband carried sandstone rocks from the surrounding community to build Hopewell Baptist Church a sanctuary still in use near Clay Kentucky. Anna married Luther C. Vaughn in 1941. All of their plans were altered with the December 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mr. Vaughn reported back to the Army base at Fort Knox and was soon deployed to North Africa and Europe where he was classified as MIA and POW. Mrs. Vaughn was employed in Evansville Indiana at a hospital and a naval defense aircraft factory 1941-45. The Vaughns relocated to Tucson in 1946 after Mr. Vaughn returned home with significant bronchial and respiratory disease that began and went untreated during his incarceration as a POW. He worked on the estate of Lady Margaret Suffolk the area known as Suffolk Hills. The Vaughns moved back to Kentucky for several years and returned to Arizona in 1963. After Mr. Vaughn's death due to war-related illness Mrs. Vaughn remained in Tucson for several years citing the educational opportunities for her four daughters. She is proud of the cumulative eleven degrees held by her four daughters. Daughters Judith and Deborah graduated from the University of Arizona while daughters Victoria and Renee attended the University of Arizona and completed their degrees elsewhere. Education was always a deciding factor in the Vaughn household. This family value included supporting those outside the nuclear family. Mrs. Vaughn and her younger daughters welcomed a "Youth for Understanding" student from Colombia S.A. who attended Catalina High School and then the University of Arizona. Mrs. Vaughn also loaned the family car to nephews for a year so they would have transportation to graduate from high school. Mrs. Vaughn has lived in Florida since 1983 where she enjoys gardening and sharing harvested seeds with friends nationwide. She harvested mangrove seedlings from her gutters while in her mid-80s and the trees are now thriving in the canal area behind her home. She is an avid letter writer who motivates her friends and family to check their mailboxes in smiling anticipation of one of her cheery letters which are often stuffed with research they need!