Obituary for
Annie Mildred Josephine « Josie » Vaughan
Our Mom, Annie Mildred Josephine “Josie” Vaughan was born January 28, 1937 on the family farm near Park Valley, SK. She is the fourth of six children, predeceased by her sisters, Shirley Hamilton and Marian Fortin. At the age of 13, Mom’s family relocated to the Cowchin Valley area on Vancouver Island. Mom married Darrel Vaughan in 1966, bringing her three daughters, Sheila, Shirley and Sherry with her. Her forth daughter, Sherryl arrived in 1967 (they called her their Centennial Project.
Mom is survived by her husband of 52 years, Darrel Vaughan; daughters, Sheila (Gordon) South of Burns Lake, BC, Shirley (Wayne) Chizma of Kamloops, BC, Sherri Welsh (Tom Spencer) of Connersville, Indiana, and Sherryl Houle of Stettler, AB; grandchildren, Dwayne (Chantelle) South of Kamloops, BC, Melaina (Coby) Langham of Danville, Kentucky, Annalisa (Presley) Swicheniuk of Burns Lake, BC, Caylen Vaughan (Kieran Forde) of Dublin, Ireland, Aaron Chizma (Steve Francis) of Brisbane, Austraillia, Saren Voisey of Vancouver, BC, Darl Houle (Rachel Armstrong) of Edmonton, AB, and Shayleen Crisp of Edmonton, AB; great-grandchildren, Riley Nicole South of Kamploops, BC, Beau Violet Forde of Dublin, Ireland, Annika Joy Swicheniuk of Burns Lake, BC, Bailee, Chloe and Eli Langham of Danville, Kentucky. Josie is also survived by the many “adopted” children and grandchildren she met and loved through the years.
The family lived on Vancouver Island in the Duncan, Lake Cowichan, Youbou area until the summer of 1972, when the family relocated to Prince George. Once all of the children had left home, the couple moved to Red Deer for a few years before settling in Edmonton 21 years ago. They have lived there since.
Mom’s faith was very important to her and was a very large part of her life. She was baptized one of Jehovah’s witnessed on August 5, 1960. She was a “Steady Eddie” in the congregation, rarely missing a meeting until her health started failing as she aged. Even then, she often listened on the phone as she knew how vital our meetings are. She was a good friend and confidant to many in the congregations she was in through the years known for her positive, upbeat attitude, even in adversity.
Mon loved to sew, knit and crochet. She would sew most of our clothes, dresses, pants, tops, quilts, pillows, whatever was required. To give you an idea of the sheet volume of work she did, she would make each daughter a new dress for each day of every assembly or convention they went to. You do the math… Her knitting was amazing, she would het measurements and make the pattern for the sweaters up as she went along. Many are the sweaters, blankets and quilts she made for her family that are still out there giving warmth and comfort literally around the world! She also instilled in her children a great love of reading, which has been passed on to the next generation. We all love to read
Music was another huge part of the household. Mom’s love of music was especially shown by how she taught us all to dance. She would have us put encyclopedias on our heads, pieces of paper between our knees and we would dance around the living room laughing and falling while trying to keep time to the music. There was always music playing and she didn’t care what genre of music we played, she was open to, and enjoyed it all, even Sherryl’s “Jungle Music”. As you can imagine, this meant a broad array of music, spanning the 60’s 70’s and into the 80’s. Country to rick, easy listening, big bands, she loved them all.
Our mom was never afraid of work. When she married Darrel, she was working in her father’s shake mill. There she specialized in cutting the hand split cedar shakes, a very physically demanding job! When she married, she became a full time homemaker, cooking, cleaning sewing, canning and running after us four girls (as well as trying to teach us all how to do all these things). After we were all in our teens (or gone from home) she took up aesthetics and cosmetology, even teaching for a time. Sherri and Sherryl have many fond memories of going to the shop where she worked and playing with the makeup. They always felt welcome there. She went on to work in the hospitality industry, helping to manage a motel, and when they moved to Red Deer, she worked in a local fabric store, which if you knew how she loved to sew, was a scary thing! So many bags of fabric made it into the stashes of both Sheila and Shirley.
Mom always had an open door policy for neighbors and friends. She could always be found having coffee with one of the neighbor ladies. Hugs were given, If you needed one, you got one. At home, us girls would always end up on Mom’s bed visiting and gabbing for hours (and maybe squeezing the odd zit!). This poor woman could never have a moment alone with her beloved books.
Our mom faced her diagnosis with great strength faith and courage. We girls wish to express our deep gratitude for the care our Mom received at the Misericordia Community Hospital, as well as at St. Joseph’s Hospice. The doctors and healthcare professionals involved in her care were all top notch. We also want to express our gratitude to the many brothers ans sisters in her congregation that tool the time to visit with mom, pray with her and show their love for her, It meant to much to all of us.
Memorial Service Saturday, September 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 9904 – 182 Street, Edmonton.
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Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Annie Mildred Josephine Josie
Vaughan 2018..
Décès pour la Ville: Edmonton, Province: Alberta
