Carol Jean Mihoover Vaughan

Carol Jean Mihoover Vaughan, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, nurse, bridge and golf player, devout Catholic, Duke basketball fan and friend to so many, passed away on September 7, 2021 following a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Carol was born on August 8, 1935, the fourth child of Joseph Mihoover and Sylvia Harp Mihoover, in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Following her father’s death when she was still a toddler, her mother raised her and her brothers Lloyd and Joe Mihoover, and sister Jeweline Bonham, all of whom predeceased her.  She graduated from St, Mary’s High School in Ponca City, OK and from St. John’s School of Nursing in Tulsa, OK in 1956.

She married Jack Vaughan in 1957; he had been one of her patients.  They relocated to Kentucky and then Belle, WV, finally settling in Beckley, WV in 1969, where they raised their three children.  Carol worked at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital and became their first utilization review coordinator.  Following her retirement, she worked as Jack’s fill-in secretary for his company MineTeK, but mostly she found a love of golf and bridge and established many lifelong friends, to go along with those she had kept in touch with since high school and nursing school.  In 1996, she and Jack retired to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia, where they built a house to accommodate two more generations of “lake babies.”  They had started going to the lake in 1967, where they had a trailer with no running water or electricity.  Many trips were made with her son on her lap and pots and pans in the back of the truck.  They were charter members of the Water’s Edge Country Club, where Carol enjoyed golf and managed several tournaments to support breast cancer.  Carol and Jack were married 55 years, until his passing in 2012.

Carol is survived by her daughter Debbie Miller (David) of Charlotte, NC, daughter Tess Barnes (David) of Raleigh, NC and son Doug Vaughan (Amber) of Moneta, VA.  Her grandchildren are Kristie Pariyadath (Manoj), Jeremy McGraw, Andrew Barnes (Cat), Jackson Barnes (Ali) and Daniel Miller. Great-grandchildren are Asha and Sam Pariyadath and Emerson and Adelaide Barnes. They loved their Mamaw very much and will miss her pretty smile, welcoming spirit and 50’s music on the pontoon boat.  Her last words were “I love you.”

A mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 1:30pm at St. Francis of Assisi in Rocky Mount, VA. Attendees who are vaccinated against Covid 19 are welcome and masks are requested.  A private burial will follow at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Moneta, VA.

Donations in her memory can be made to Wounded Warriors (woundedwarriorproject.org or telephone 855-448-3997) or Tunnels to Towers Foundation (t2t.org or telephone 718-987-1931), both of which were important to her because her brothers were veterans and she supported first responders.

The family would like to thank Sharon, Karen and Juliane with Carilion Clinic Hospice Franklin for their wonderful care of our mother and support of the family over these past few weeks, as well as her many, many friends for their support and kindness over the years of her wonderful life.

From Proverbs 31:26: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

Arrangements by Flora Funeral Service and Cremation Center, Rocky Mount.