Vaughn Edwin Turner
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Vaughn's obituary
Vaughn Edwin Turner
April 25, 1952 – February 9, 2026
He was 73 years old.
Vaughn was born on April 25, 1952, in Drayton, North Dakota. He spent his first few years living in Joliette, ND, until 1963, when he moved to Pembina, ND. He graduated from Pembina High School in 1970. He then attended trade school in Fargo, ND, where he trained as an airplane mechanic.
Vaughn’s life and true love was being around airplanes. His interest began in early childhood, working in and around aircraft, and eventually becoming a pilot. He started crop dusting in the Pembina area for a couple of years until, around age 21, he moved to Galena, Alaska, to work as a bush pilot. After four years of fun yet treacherous flying, he went to work for Northern Air Cargo, flying DC-6s out of Anchorage, Alaska.
In 1985, he moved to Phoenix, AZ, to become a pilot for America West, a fairly new and up-and-coming company now known as American Airlines. Vaughn had a tremendous career flying Boeing 737s and retired as a Captain in March 2017.
In addition to his commercial aviation career, Vaughn was an accomplished stunt pilot and parachutist. He completed more than 100 recorded jumps and won both the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Opens in precision landing competitions. He also restored a de Havilland Chipmunk, a British training aircraft that he converted into an aerobatics plane. He would take anyone up who wanted to go, doing loops and rolls until their stomach couldn’t take it anymore while he was smiling the entire time.
Beyond aviation, Vaughn cherished time spent outdoors with his family. He enjoyed camping, fishing with his father and two brothers, traveling in his motorhome to visit his overflowing list of friends, photography, curling, drawing, playing the piano, listening to music, and playing shuffleboard. He especially treasured the many “happy hours” shared with his close pilot friends.
Vaughn was preceded in death by his mother, Joyce; father, Ross; sister, Brenda; brother, Murray; nephew, Tyrell; and the beloved family dog, Norman.
He is survived by his son, Eric; stepdaughter, Brecken; brother, Cameron; sister-in-law, Robin; nephews, Garrett, Logan, and Cordell; and grandnephew, Jack.
A funeral service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at 111 S. Greenfield Road, Mesa, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the ASPCA (https://secure.aspca.org/dona…)
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