Thomas S. Vaughn
Thomas Steven Vaughn, 33, of Summerville, South Carolina, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the Medical University of South Carolina, surrounded by his family.
He was born on Sept. 28, 1990, at the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake and was raised by his loving parents, Robert and Heather Shaw (Thompson), and the late Steven Vassar in Lake Placid.
Thomas graduated from Lake Placid High School in 2008. He attended Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, obtaining his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SUNY Plattsburgh. He was currently working as an administrative and clinical operations manager in the Department of Otolaryngology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He married the love of his life, Craig, in 2018, and they spent 10 amazing years together building their life in Charleston, South Carolina.
Thomas was a bright light in all of our lives, someone who was always the life of the party. He lived his life so fully and authentically with no regrets, except there should’ve been many more years. He never met a stranger, and would stop everything he was doing to make sure his family and friends were taken care of. Thomas’ last act of generosity and selflessness was his commitment through organ donation, giving others the gift of life.
Thomas is preceded in death by his father, Steven Thomas Vassar; grandfather Robert Purdy; grandfather Thomas George Vassar; and grandmother Barbara Vassar.
Thomas is leaving behind family and friends who will cherish his memory forever. He is survived by his loving husband, Craig Vaughn and fur baby Reese; mother Heather Shaw; bonus father Robert Shaw; father-in-law Leonard Vaughn; mother-in-law Ann Vaughn; grandmother Denise Purdy; grandmother Deanna Bell; sisters Amanda Jacques (Dan), Lauren Shaw and Sarah Lincoln; brothers Justin Vassar, Steven Vassar and Nicholas Shaw; brothers-in-law Bryan Vaughn (Sherri) and Matthew Vaughn (Brittany); nieces and nephews Zoe and Zane Vaughn, Landon and Grayson Jacques, and Skyler, Kaelyn and Olivia Vaughn; aunts Tammy Leon, Nicole Fitzgerald (Ty) and Brittany Purdy; and so many friends who are like family.
The family will receive friends to celebrate Thomas’s life at the M. B. Clark, Inc., Funeral Home in Lake Placid from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. A prayer service will follow at 8 p.m. The Rev. John Yonkovig will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Charleston, North Carolina Animal Society.
Visit www.mbclarkfuneralhome.com to share a memory, upload a photograph, sign the online guest book or leave condolences for his family to cherish.