Danny’s Story

Daniel Lee Vaughn, 71, of Nashville, Tennessee, born June 29, 1952, in Hannibal, Missouri, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2023, in Nashville, after complications from a stroke.

Born to Audrey June Feith and Joseph Vincil Vaughn, Danny grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and Cahokia, Illinois, where he ultimately graduated from Cahokia High School. He later attended Gateway College of Evangelism (now Urshan College) in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was a music major and met many individuals who would become lifelong friends. He played the piano, trumpet, baritone, accordion, and other instruments too numerous to name. It was his love of music that inspired Danny to move to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1973, where he would spend most of the next 50 years of his life. In Nashville, he married his former wife, Janet Bledsoe Vaughn, and raised Jonathan, Jordan, and Cassie, while continuing to work for decades as a trucking clerk and a proud Teamster. He had a lifelong love of music and the performing arts, and instilled this love in his kids and grandkids. He loved going to the movies and streaming them on his iPad later in life. He is remembered for watching Stephen King's Misery, his favorite film, far too many times, including in his last week of life. He read voraciously, loved deeply, and laughed incessantly. And he was mischievous to his dying day.

Preceded in death by his daughter, Cassie Vaughn, parents, Joseph and Audrey Vaughn, and brother, Don Vaughn, he is survived by his sons, Jonathan (Amanda) Vaughn of New Paltz, NY, and Jordan (Kristen) Vaughn of Franklin, TN; granddaughters, Hailey and Alaina Short of Antioch, TN, and Ansley and Harper Vaughn of Franklin, TN; sister, Judy (Terry) Russell of Collinsville, IL; brother, David Vaughn of Fairview Heights, IL; sister, Cathy Vaughn of Mesa, AZ; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.