Colleen “Connie” Vaughn, 87, of Winner, SD passed away on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023 at the Winner Regional Healthcare Facility in Winner, SD. Mass of Christian Burial was held on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner, SD. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.
Colleen “Connie” Annetta Vaughn was born on Jan. 16, 1936, in New Underwood, SD to her parents Elsie “Kink” (Killian) & Howard Connolly. She grew up in Wall and graduated from Wall High School. She had an older brother Ron whom she loved and looked up to yet found ways to push his buttons. Although if her dad, Howard, was around she could do nothing wrong. She was the apple of his eye. Howard was very musical and passed along his talents to Connie. She played the saxophone and piano along with singing, which she continued throughout her life.
After graduating from Wall High School in 1954, Connie went on and completed one year of business school in Rapid City before being united in marriage to Frank Vaughn on June 2, 1955. To this unity, four children were born, Debra, Pamela, James, and John. They lived in Rapid City, then moved to Philip for a few years before settling down in Winner in 1966.
Connie was a very strong woman. She worked hard and loved supporting her family. She was always there supporting Frank in whatever his next dream was. Whether it was an auto body shop, a hotel, or a farm, she was there helping make it all work! She even found time to foster her own hobbies like Swedish weaving and embroidering, but we think she loved knitting the most. She knitted Christmas stockings for all her grandkids and great grandkids. We joked with her that she must’ve been slowing down just a touch because by the time the great grandkids came along the stockings got a little smaller! She was also so giving! Frank was a collector of antiques. He enjoyed the hunt and bartering for a good deal. Connie enjoyed the love she could share by giving it to someone else. Any time you stopped at her house she tried to give you something to take home with you. That along with a bag of cookies of course.
She was a wonderful baker. One of our favorites was her Snickerdoodle Cookies. She tried her best to write down all the details of her recipes, but as hard as we tried, they never quite turned out like hers. Perhaps it was the grandkids’ dirty hands helping and her love that made them extra good! She also used to pull taffy with the kids. They made homemade donuts and fudge. And if the fudge didn’t turn out, she’d just make popcorn and let the kids use the fudge as a dip.
Unfortunately, she was widowed early in life. But she was blessed to be able to travel to the east coast with her brother Ron and his wife June and traveled to Alaska with her sister-in-law Barb. She took in the warm Texas weather a few months out of the year with her sister-in-law June during the winter months. She also loved traveling with her kids to go see her grandkids. She would try and make it to all her 10 grandkids’ many activities… her lifetime activity pass was still in her purse.
She was always about family. Whether it was our extended hunting family joining us for opening weekend, or the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids at Christmas time. She loved a big Christmas Day. She would get the good China out for everyone, even for the grandkids. She had a wonderful smile and laugh! And she loved to tease. Even after her stroke she was a jokester and never lost her sense of humor. She was a daughter, a sister, a wife, an aunt, and a friend…. But to us she was a Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma and she is greatly missed.
She is survived by her four children, ten grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren: Debra (John) Fisher, Tiffany (Sam) Zoey and Ally Sandmeier. Michelle (Ben) Rayne and Phineas Rohlik. Cindy (Chet) Milo Willer. Pamela (Curt) Leat, Travis Leat and Kirby Leat. James (Diane) Vaughn, Chad (Shannon) Crosby and Gunner Vaughn. Erin, Jyles, Cooper, and Liam Auble. Jill (Quentin) Iden, Reagen and Boston Myers. John (Penny) Vaughn, Mandy (Cole) Emmet and Avery St. Clair. Jordan (Amelia) Vaughn. Her sister-in-laws June (Ward) Hogue and Barb (Bill) Dunn. And numerous nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband Frank, her parents, and her brother Ron.
Loading ...