Vaughn Jr., Robert Howard
Robert Howard Vaughn, Jr., aka “Papa,” “Bob” “Deacon Vaughn” “Pop- Pop” and friend to so many, was born on May 20, 1935 in Birmingham, AL to Ruth Helen and Robert H. Vaughn Sr. ( both deceased).
At the age of fourteen, Robert came to Chicago, IL to live with his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Leo Hardin. He graduated from Du Sable High School and extended his education through courses taken at Illinois Technical College, University of Chicago, and Roosevelt University.
Three children were conceived from his first marriage. From his deceased spouse, Jacqueline B. Vaughn ( former President of the Chicago Teacher’s Union), he acquired a stepson.
From a young age, Robert always had a strong work ethic and enjoyed many positions from parking cars at the London House Hotel downtown to working as a stock boy after school, at Vito’s Market on the Southside. Robert advanced to meat cutter for the A& P Supermarket in 1954 and was soon employed by the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 546. Popular with members, he became a union representative by 1964 and was elected President of Local 546 for two terms beginning in 1995. Robert was selected to be the International Vice- President in 1996. By 2002, he was instrumental in merging Local 546 with Local 1540 to create Local 1546. Robert was proud of the fact that his term started with 500 members and grew to 34,000 members by the time of his retirement in 2002.
He served on numerous boards over his 53- year career in the labor movement, including the Board of Southside NAACP as the second Vice- President, Board of Directors for the Du Sable Museum, Chairman of the Board at Paul G. Stewart Center, Board of Directors for Grant Hospital and the Amalgamated Bank Labor Council. Robert also served as a Trustee to the UFCW National Pension Fund. He was appointed to the Fund’s Select Committee and served with great distinction until August 25, 2017. He was also a longtime member of the Eureka Lodge # 64 F. A. & M. Prince Hall Affiliated.
Robert loved his family, friends, work, Westerns and all kinds of music be it jazz, gospel, or rock and roll. He kept yearly season tickets for the Chicago Bears games and loved a good game of golf. His life was enriched by his love for travel as he visited places with his beloved wife Jacqui, including England, France, Africa, Italy, Jamaica, Trinidad, Virgin Islands, and Mexico. Most of all, he loved his home away from home in Las Vegas, where friends and family were always welcomed.
Robert was a proud member of the Pilgrim Baptist Church for more than twenty years and served to counsel those in need and to shepherd the growth and survival of the church after a devastating fire in 2006. He worked tirelessly to insure that future generations would know Pilgrim as the ‘ Home of Gospel Music.’ He served on the Deacon Board and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Though he battled with serious health challenges, Robert strived to be positive and often shared his testimony of God’s goodness with those he encountered. His life’s mottos were: “Study and get ready, maybe your chance will come,” and “Be loyal and honest, especially to yourself, and remember that it’s lonely at the top of anything.”
Robert made his transition on August 26, 2017. Five siblings preceded him in death, Elizabeth Caldwell, Fred Vaughn, Milous James Thrash, Kenneth Evans, and Reginald Vaughn. He leaves to cherish his memory, children, Roderick Howard Vaughn, Sharmen Marie Lett, Wendy Lynn Vaughn, and stepson, Karl T. Wright ( Wendy); grandchildren, Latoia Hunte ( Brian), Brenon Lett ( Avvie), Evan Lett, and Addison Wright; great- grandchildren, Marcellus Lett, Jeremy Hunte, Laniya Hunte, and Paris Lett; siblings, Vivian Vaughn, Sandra Dees ( Turner), Warren Vaughn, Lloyd Evans, Debra Hollis, Shelia Attical, and Patricia Pullom ( Willie) and a host of relatives and friends.
The family or Robert H. Vaughn Jr. wishes to express thanks and sincere appreciation, for your cards, prayers, phone calls and kind expressions of sympathy and concern. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: Untied Negro College Fund or The Robert H. Vaughn Jr. Pilgrim Development Fund, 3300 S. Indiana Ave., Chicago, IL 60616.
Visitation Friday, September 8, 1: 00- 9: 00 p. m. Family present 6: 00- 9: 00. Saturday wake 9: 30- 11: 00 a. m. Service 11: 00 a. m. at Pilgrim Baptist Church, 3301 Indiana. Burial Oak Wood Repast Akarama Community Center.