Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, to Mary Howard and Henry Asa Vaughan, Robert attended Tuskegee High School and the University of Alabama, and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1943, after which he served as a lieutenant, US Navy. In 1944, Robert met the love of his life, Mary Percy, of Westborough, MA, and they married on June 16, 1945. After residencies in thoracic, orthopedic, and general surgery at hospitals in Boston and New York City, Robert moved his family to Columbus in 1953, where he practiced surgery independently until 1986.
Besides his passion for excellence in surgery, Robert especially enjoyed singing and golf. A longtime member of the Columbus St. Paul United Methodist Church choir, he soloed “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” at Christmas until his late 80s. As a summer resident in Small Point, Robert attended and sang at the Popham Chapel, and played golf every day possible at Sebasco’s Shore Acres. Robert also relished clams from the community beach, walks with his dogs on Small Point’s wooded dirt roads, and working on the summer home he and Mary fashioned to help keep their farflung family knit together.
Robert is survived by his wife, Mary; his children, Lea (Carl) Feinstein, Catherine Vaughan, Robert (Katherine) Vaughan, and Thomas Vaughan; seven grandchildren, Adam Feinstein, Noah Weeth- Feinstein, David Feinstein, Vaughan Risher, Daniel Vaughan, Elizabeth Vaughan, and Matthew Vaughan; two great-grandchildren, Greta Feinstein and Cecelia Vaughan; and his brother, John Thomas Vaughan. A memorial service at St. Paul will be held on January 14 at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Phippsburg Volunteer Fire and Rescue would honor him. Direct emails to the family at rhvaughanmd.memorial@gm ail.com.
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