Thomas (Tom) Alvin Vaughn, 80, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, went home to be with the Lord on April 24, 2022.

He was born on March 16, 1942, in Kankakee, Illinois, to Everett Robert Vaughn and Eula LaVina Kirk.

Tom accepted Jesus Christ to be his personal savior on August 13, 1979.

Tom, who was at this time employed by Kroehler Furniture in Bradley, Illinois, was married in Clifton, Illinois, on November 22, 1962, to his wife of 59 years, Judith Ann Schuler.

Tom completed a correspondence course in mechanical drafting in 1964 and began his career in engineering at Permanent Manufacturing of Morocco, Indiana. Later, he worked at American Screen Products Company of Chatsworth, Illinois, as a draftsman. While in Chatsworth, Tom was promoted to product engineer and, in 1972, was transferred to a new plant being built in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

Tom and Judy lived in Rice Lake for 16 years before moving to rural New Auburn. During his career at AMSCO, now known as Quanex Building Products, Tom was issued two United States patents for window and door screen component parts. He left AMSCO after 22 years to work in the life insurance and mutual fund industry. In 1988, Tom went back to engineering work at Big Bike Products in Rice Lake, designing motorcycle accessories. In 1990, Tom returned to the AMSCO engineering department. During his second career at AMSCO, Tom served as the technical committee chairman for the Screen Manufacturers Association technical committee and was responsible for writing industry standards, one of which was a new standard for warning labels on window screens intended to prevent children from falling through open windows. At the same time, Tom served as chairman of a task group for the American Society for Testing and Materials. After an additional 15 years, Tom took early retirement from Quanex in 2005. Tom, who often advised, “don’t ever burn your bridges“, returned to Quanex in 2015 and worked part time for another 15 months in the engineering department.

Tom enjoyed woodworking, rock and coin collecting, researching ancestry, and traveling. During his life with Judy, they were fortunate to travel to many states for business and pleasure and visited England, Wales, and Scotland while their son, Mike, was serving in the Air Force. In 2014, Tom and Judy sold their home in New Auburn and moved to an apartment in Rice Lake, where they lived until his death.

He is survived by his wife, Judy; children: Shelly (David) Rae of Sand Creek, Kimberly Weiss of Eau Claire, and Michael (Diane) Vaughn of New Auburn; grandchildren: Matthew Weiss of Eau Claire, Nathan Weiss of Nashville, Tennessee, Alex Vaughn of Chippewa Falls, Sean (Jordyn) Rae of Bloomer, Megan Rae of Rossville, Illinois, Zachary Vaughn of New Auburn, Haley (Gustavo) Vaughn-Silva of New Auburn, Kayleigh Rae of Sand Creek; and one great grandchild: Izzabella Rae Johnstone of Rossville, Illinois.

A memorial service will be held at Faith Baptist Church in Chetek on Friday, May 6 at 11:00 AM.

Last Update: Apr 28, 2022 5:38 am CDT