1944 - 2023
George Martin Vaughan was born December 6, 1944 in Houston, TX and died October 12, 2023 in Longmont, CO. He was the eldest of seven children born to Mary Alberta Losh and George Russell Vaughan. After going to primary schools in Houston, he attended Saint Anthony Oblate Junior Seminary in San Antonio for high school. At age 16 he matriculated at the University of St. Thomas in Houston for two years but transferred to the University of Houston to finish his B.A. Biology.
In 1965 he entered medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, graduating with both an M.D. and a Master’s degree in Anatomy. After completing a rotating internship at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, New York in 1971, he was drafted into the Army and completed two years of research at Edgewood Arsenal in Edgewood, Maryland where he was the first to describe the melatonin circadian rhythm in the human. At the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine and an Endocrine Fellowship and became board certified in both disciplines.
He reenlisted in the Army and served for 18 more years at the Institute for Surgical Research at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, rising quickly to the rank of colonel. He published numerous research articles and book chapters on topics ranging from critical care illness in burn patients, the pineal gland and melatonin. He received the Peter Forsham Endocrinology Award for his outstanding achievement in clinical investigation, teaching and clinical endocrinology and was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
His primary avocation in life was classical and choral music. He played violin but loved to sing harmony. At various times in his busy life, he was either a cantor, choir member, choir director or quartet member at Catholic churches wherever he lived. For twenty years he was the secretary of the San Antonio Chamber Music Society.
George is survived by Mary K. Cotten, his wife of 57 years, their three sons Thomas (Vanessa), Charles (Misha) and Christopher (Stephanie), 13 grandchildren: Kayleigh (Joe) Sandoval, Megan (Will) Barham, Nicholas, Patrick (Michaella), Ethan, Ciaran, Ana, Benedict, Danika, Michaela, Noah, Mackenzie, Samuel and three great grandchildren: Penelope and Logan Sandoval and Hildegard Barham. Four siblings also survive him: Rose (Gabe) Ireland, Mary Agnes (Asok) Kumar, Josefa (Charles Boone) and John (Marcy) Vaughan as do many nieces and nephews and their children. He was preceded in death by two sisters: Monica (Bob Alaniz) and Mary Jane Vaughan.
A vigil service will be held on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 6:30 pm and The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, November 13, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. both at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 3971 Pike Road, Longmont, C0. Burial will be at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Wednesday November 23, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers please pray for all those with dementia or Parkinson’s disease or make a small donation to the charity of your choice.
