Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Vaughn, Robert "Bob" L. April 27, 2020
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Pat Currigan currigan1932@comcast.net April 5, 2021, 1:50 pm

Ionia Sentinel Standard-Sat. May 2, 2020

Robert (Bob) L. Vaughn
10/10/1963-4/27/2020
"Hey Kid" said the slight man, while taking off his worn Harley leather 
jacket and hanging it from the same nail that's been rusting into the post of 
the porch since 1996. The closer you get to the garage, the more you can 
smell exhaust and the hint of something that was definitely more than a 
regular cigarette. He disappears behind the open hood of his burgundy, late-
70s LeSabre, but even through that American steel you can clearly hear the 
flint strike of his 99-cent gas station lighter. You round the front bumper 
and see that he's now elbow deep, somewhere between the radiator and the 
crank case, with a Basic cigarette barely hanging on to the corner of his 
mouth. You could ask what he's working on, but between how quickly his 
projects change, the dulcet tones of Alanis Morissetter, and the four letter 
glitter he's currently throwing in the air over a busted knuckle, you opt to 
let him be the one to choose the topic.

When the people that knew and loved Bob close their eyes, some version of 
this story comes to mind. If his hand wasn't holding a wrench, it was holding 
his chin while he absently considered what might be causing 'that weird 
noise' someone was reenacting to him. When the news came, a mere three weeks 
ago, that he had extremely aggressive cancer, that same mechanical mind set 
itself to work. After exhausting all possible solutions and accepting that 
this was not a problem he could fix, he gave his family the final gift of 
allowing us to care for him in his last days. Not one to linger, Bob waited 
just long enough for his loved ones to each have a chance to spend time with 
him, exchange jabs and insults, and even watch one last car show on TV, 
before slipping away quietly onto a project we're all not quite allowed to 
see yet.

Bob is dearly missed by his four brat kids that he affectionately referred to 
as "Oops" (Kinzie Gessler) "Whoops" (Kate Wolbers), Children; Audrie, 
Bryleigh, McKenna), "No Again" (Lauren Vaughn, Children; Finley, Easton), and 
"Oh S__t" (Bobby Vaughn); mother Kay Estes; sister "Deta" (Lisa, husband 
Jerry Henderson), and brother Joe Estes. He is preceded in rest by his 
father, Arthur Vaughn, an equally stubborn and mechanical man.

The news of his passing has especially affected the makers of Slim Jim beef 
sticks, who relied on his purchase and distribution of the snack to his four 
kids, and then to his five grandkids. We've heard rumors that they will need 
to scale back production to compensate for the decrease in sales, so please 
consider picking up a few on your next visit to Speedway.

Bob's family will honor him with a private ceremony. Due to unexpected nature 
of Bob's passing, the family asks to consider a contribution to his memorial 
fund to help cover expenses, in lieu of other gifts. If you are unable to 
contribute financially, we'd love to hear your favorite story. 
gofundme.com/f/bobvaughnmemorial



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