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In memory of
Rick Allen Vaughn
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Rick's obituary
This is the story of Rick A Vaughn, an amazing man that was loved, is terribly missed and will always be cherished. He was a loving husband, father, brother, coach, teacher, cousin, uncle and friend to humans and animals alike. His faith, love and passion for Christ guided him throughout his life. He spent several years working as a youth pastor in Lima, Ohio. He assisted a Lima church in Fifth Quarter activities every Friday night after football games. Faith was always a big part of his life, and he wanted to share that with young people. Rick’s gift was to help young people.
Rick’s story began on Jan. 25, 1963 in Lima, Ohio born to Cassie (Webb) and Norman Vaughn. He grew up on the southside of Lima with his sister, Norma. Rick spent lots of time with his cousins playing and watching sports, one of the big passions of his life. In fact, his first paying job was collecting baseballs that were hit out of Simmon’s field earning a quarter per ball. Rick excelled at sports and left a legacy for his sister, who was automatically placed on the school basketball team because she was Rickey Vaughn’s little sister. He was a tough act to follow and a loving, protective brother. They remained close friends throughout his life.
Rick met his wife, Mary Honse, at Family Resource Center where they were both employed after college. Rick was a romantic under his tough sports minded exterior and swept Mary off her feet during their courtship. They married on Oct. 20, 1990 and enjoyed 31 wonderful years together in a story book marriage. They were blessed with an intelligent, beautiful daughter, Lexi. When she was young, he spent countless hours going on adventures with her horses and Barbies. He loved being her father. Rick’s family was the center of his world. He loved spending time with them and ensured they knew how much he valued and loved them. He spoke of them often with love and admiration to friends and coworkers. The love of his family wasn’t limited to his immediate family. His father-in-law, Lester, was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of 2020. One of Lester’s favorite activities was gardening. Due to the toll the cancer took on his body, he was unable to walk out to the garden. Rick spent time locating, purchasing and assembling raised garden frames placed around the patio of his home, allowing his father-in-law to garden once again.
Football was another of Rick’s loves and he played at the collegiate level for Capital University. His passion for football continued after college with the next generation through a lifetime of coaching. He touched and changed many lives during his coaching career. He was a phenomenal coach and mentor. His passion and amazing legacy will live on in all the lives he touched. He was more than a coach. He prided himself on building relationships and providing support to each student athlete. The student athletes knew he was always in their corner to provide whatever they needed. He maintained those relationships long after the students graduated and moved on into adult life. They all knew they could reach out to him anytime, and he would do whatever he could to assist them. He not only touched the lives of the student athletes, but he was also a mentor to many coaches throughout the years. He was never without a pen and a piece of paper in hand to write down the next great football play that just popped into his head. He spent many hours talking on the phone, meeting at nearby restaurants or texting other coaches to come up with the best game plan for this week’s game. And following the game, whether it was a win or a loss, he was hard at work to make the necessary improvements first thing Saturday morning. This drive for improvement didn’t end with the football season, it was a year-round process. The 1996 State Football Championship as the defensive coordinator at Lima Senior followed by the induction into the Lima Senior Athletic Hall of Fame are a few highlights of his football
coaching career. He loved watching sports as well. He rooted for University of Kentucky basketball, Ohio State University football, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Reds.
Rick worked as an intervention specialist at Central Crossing and then Westland High School. He enjoyed the challenge of helping the students succeed in their academic endeavors. In the classroom his enjoyed the challenge of helping the students succeed in their academic endeavors. In the classroom his belief of ‘never a student who could not be helped’ was reflected. In challenging cases, he would search until he found what worked to help them to succeed. His philosophy was “you never give up on a kid.” The students knew they could count on him and he never let them down.
Christmas was his favorite holiday and he loved Hallmark Christmas movies many times watching the ending first. During the holiday season, his home was filled with amazing decorations and the sound of Christmas music. He was a big fan of Santa Claus and continued a family tradition by displaying many of the Santas inherited from his mom’s extensive collection.
He also loved helping in the community where we lived and worked. Every year we adopted a local family and purchased Christmas gifts for them. If an athlete needed food, clothes, football shoes or even a ride back and forth to work, he was always willing to do whatever was necessary to make sure they were successful. When the pandemic hit back in March, he volunteered his time once a week to deliver pizza to local Westland families. It gave him such joy to give back to the families who were struggling during this difficult time.
Rick always had a ready smile. He had an amazing sense of humor and loved to make people laugh. He was a great storyteller with a strong supply for any occasion. He never knew a stranger.
He was a tough but gentle soul with charisma and a caring, kind heart. He was an avid fisherman, enjoyed camping and traveling. He was often seen with his big dog Harley at Westland walking the big field together.
Rick unexpectedly left this world at home with his family on November 24, 2020. He was greeted in heaven by his mom, dad, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and his beloved niece. A celebration of life is scheduled on July 17, 2021 from 2-6 pm at Westland High School Football Stadium. Rick touched many lives and shared many stories. His family requests you honor him by bringing pictures and stories to share during the celebration dedicated to this incredible man. Donations accepted for the Coach Rick A Vaughn scholarship fund.
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Created with love by
Mary Honse (Rick's wife).
