Donald William Vaughn

Donald William Vaughn, a resident of Saint Gabriel, Louisiana, passed away on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at the age of 71. He was born April 1, 1954, in Sikeston, Missouri to Bill Samuel Vaughn and Wanda Louise Vaughn. 

He is survived by his daughter, Hattie Vaughn Guidry, and her mother, Jill Margaret Vaughn; son-in-law, Jonathan Luke Guidry; two grandchildren, Eleanor Whitney Guidry and Luke William Guidry; sister, Pamela Darlene Pugh; brother-in-law, James Terry Pugh; niece, Breana Louise Henry; and four nephews, Jared Travis Pugh, Brandon Kyle Pugh, Landry Dillon Pugh, and Steven Kyle Poche. 

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Michael David Vaughn.

After graduating from University City High School in Missouri, he moved to Maringouin, Louisiana to become a soybean farmer. For thirty years, he planted crops of soybeans, wheat, corn, and eventually sugar cane. His farming operation grew to consist of 2,000 acres in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2001, he retired from farming and began to purchase and manage real estate investment properties.

He was a faithful believer in Jesus who trusted deeply in the power of prayer, often saying that his favorite place to pray was on a tractor, plowing his fields. He was a devoted family man whose quiet generosity, humility, and quick wit left a lasting mark on everyone he met. Full of wisdom and always putting others before himself, he found his greatest joy and pride in his daughter and grandchildren, who were the light of his life. Following his cancer diagnosis and surgery, he was lovingly cared for by Jill, his former wife of 35 years with whom he shared a bond that endured.

Services will be held Thursday, February 12, 2026, at the First Pentecostal Church of Denham Springs, located at 1020 Range Avenue, in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Visitation will be from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm with a funeral service at 12:00 pm. Interment will follow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory, located at 11817 Jefferson Highway, in Baton Rouge. 

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in his memory to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.