Person Page 1,158

Dr. Silas Max Vaughn

Parents

Person Exhibits

Silas Vaughn

Biography

Person Source		Dr. Silas Max Vaughn had person sources.1
Birth	20 March 1926	He was born on 20 March 1926 in Collinsville, Grayson, Texas, United StatesBGO.1
Residence	1930	He lived in Precinct 5, Grayson, TexasBGO, in 1930. Age: 4; Age: 4 6/12; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son2
1930 Federal Census	4 May 1930	He appeared in the 1930 federal census on 4 May 1930 in Grayson, Texas, United StatesBGO,
Residence	1935	He lived in Grayson, Texas, United StatesBGO, in 1935.3
Residence	1 April 1940	He lived in Grayson, Texas, United StatesBGO, on 1 April 1940. Age: 14; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son3
1940 Federal Census	2 April 1940	He appeared in the 1940 federal census on 2 April 1940 in Grayson, Texas, United StatesBGO.
Military	1 July 1944	He served in the military as Private, Fifth Rbn, Training Regiment, Marine Corps on 1 July 1944 in San Diego, California, United StatesBG.
Anecdote	29 August 1952	Sailed on S. S. Exeter bound for Alexandria 14 Sep 1952
Marriage	30 July 1953	He and Catherine Watts ("Cathy") Stewart were married on 30 July 1953 in Cairo, Al Qahirah, EgyptBGO. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church4
Residence	1957	He lived in Laurinburg, Scotland, North Carolina, USABGO, in 1957.5
Residence	1984	He lived in Montreat, North Carolina, USABGO, in 1984.5
Residence	between 1998 and 2002	He lived in Montreat, Buncombe, North Carolina, United StatesBGO, between 1998 and 2002. StreetAddress: 141 Holston Ln; PhoneNumber: 828-669-63166
Resident	from 1998 to 2014	Catherine Watts ("Cathy") Stewart resided in Montreat, North Carolina, United StatesBGO, from 1998 to 2014.
Death	9 May 2015	He died on 9 May 2015 at age 89 at Parker RidgeBG in Blue Hill, Maine, United StatesBGO. EPSON MFP image
Obituary	9 May 2015	His Obituary on 9 May 2015. Silas Max Vaughn, of Montreat, North Carolina died peacefully on May 9, 2015 at the Parker Ridge Retirement Community in Blue Hill, Maine. Born March 20, 1926, he was the son of the late Hershel and Odessa Graham Vaughn and a native of Collinsville, Texas. He grew up on the family farm and attended a one-room schoolhouse. As a high school student he helped with crops and on cattle drives to the stockyards in Fort Worth. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he joined the U.S. Marines. After spending Christmas 1944 in Pearl Harbor, he went to the South Pacific where he served at Okinawa. He was among the first group of service personnel in Nagasaki, Japan after the detonation of second atomic bomb. These experiences had a profound impact on the rest of his life, and it seems that the exposure to radiation in Nagasaki was a contributing factor to the blood cancer he developed 65+ years later. Like so many of his generation, he went to college on the GI bill and continued in the U.S. Marines Reserves until 1952. He attended Austin College in Sherman, TX, earning the B.S. and M.S. degrees. He was awarded the L.L.D. degree from King College in 1974. His entire career was spent in higher education. He was active in the Boy Scouts, both as a parent and volunteer. Both his sons achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, and he was a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award—the highest honor for volunteers. An ordained deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he was also active as a church teacher and in mission work before and after his retirement. His first academic position was at the American University in Cairo (1952–1954) where he married his lifelong partner, Catherine Watts Stewart Vaughn. They met on the ship on the first night out of port where they were bridge partners during the journey from New York City to Cairo. They began dating soon thereafter. Si asked Cathy to marry him on Christmas Eve 1952 while visiting Shepherds’ Field in Bethlehem. They married on July 30, 1953 in Cairo at the Church of Scotland, and they remained at the American University in Cairo for another year— Silas taught business and agriculture and Catherine held a Fulbright Fellowship. It was during this time that he decided to shift from teaching to business administration. Thus began his career as a business manager and college administrator. After appointments at Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia and Southwestern College in Georgetown, Texas, he was hired in 1958 as the first employee of St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC. The board decided to hire Silas as the business manager before selecting a president. Following the construction of the new campus and the establishment and growth of the new college, Silas was hired in 1969 as vice chancellor for finance at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. For the next three years he oversaw expansive growth and building at UNCC. In 1972, he accepted a short-term consulting position at Montreat- Anderson College to advise the board on how best to close this school that was experiencing severe financial troubles. Rather than develop a plan to dissolve the school, he urged the board to find a president to help them focus on their mission and core values. He was truly surprised when the board asked him to lead that effort, and he went against the advice of colleagues when he left a more secure and prestigious position at UNCC to assume this challenge.

Citations

1. [S72] "Marie Scott," (MS, 22 Jun 2009; Atlanta, GA). Hereinafter cited as "Marie Scott."
2. [S21297] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 5, Grayson, Texas; Roll: 2338; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0049; Image: 787.0; FHL microfilm: 2342072
3. [S20631] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Grayson, Texas; Roll: T627_4044; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 91-50
4. [S3138] Vaughn Family Tree, Catherine Watts Stewart
5. [S3138] Vaughn Family Tree, Dr. Silas Max Vaughn
6. [S3137] Ancestry.com, U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002, City: Montreat; State: North Carolina; Year(s): 1998-2002