June 17, 1950 – December 24, 2024
Jo Anne Vaughn (née Linder), age 74, passed away on December 24, 2024. Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, she grew up in Pocatello, Idaho and eventually settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Jo Anne majored in Anthropology at Colorado College, where she was part of the student group that helped establish the Block Plan. While her children, Carrie and Rob, were young, she was a prolific and talented crafter — knitting, crochet, embroidery, fabric arts. She made the kids’ clothes. When they grew older, she started working as a tax preparer at H&R Block. She was so successful at this she went back to school and earned a master’s in accounting at the University of North Dakota, and quickly earned her CPA credentials. She worked as a CPA for almost thirty years.
A world traveler, Jo Anne visited five continents, only missing Antarctica. She especially loved cruising, and went on 44 of them, most recently to Scotland and Ireland. She made sure to learn about the culture, history, and music of every place she traveled, and had the CD collection to prove it. After retiring, her favorite activities were planning new trips and creating slide shows of previous ones. Besides traveling with her family, she loved theater, all kinds of live music, visiting wineries, attending science fiction conventions with her daughter, and watching her granddaughter Emery dance in “The Nutcracker.”
She created many great memories for herself and her family. She is terribly missed.
Jo Anne is survived by her husband of 53 years, Larry Vaughn; her daughter, Carrie; her son, Rob; daughter-in-law, Deb; and granddaughter, Emery. She was preceded in death by her parents, Allan and Mary Linder of Pueblo, Colorado.
A memorial service will be held at the Shrine of Remembrance in Colorado Springs on January 24, 2025, at 12:00pm. Interment will follow at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery at 2:00pm, with a reception afterward.
Memorials in Jo Anne’s name may be made to Grand Teton National Park Foundation (Jo Anne and Larry honeymooned at Grand Tetons National Park and visited every 10th anniversary) and the Girl Scouts of America.
Russ McKnight
4 Jan 2025Her beautiful soul has graced us and will never be forgotten by all of us who loved her.