Fred Langan 

Kaye Vaughan, who has died at the age of 91, was a phys. ed. teacher at the old Knowlton High School and then Massey-Vanier when it opened in 1969. Along with heading the phys. ed. department and working in the school administration, he was a guidance counsellor and coached the football team and other sports. Kaye Vaughan was a competitive man and knew football as a former professional athlete. He placed the best athletes on defence, making scoring difficult for opponents. 

Kaye Vaughan was born in Kansas and played football at university, earning a Master’s in Physical Education. 

He then moved to Ottawa to play professional football with the Ottawa Roughriders. At a sports dinner in Ottawa, he met the Olympic skiing champion, Lucile Wheeler. They married, and when Kaye retired from football, he found a teaching job in Knowlton. He went to McGill to earn a Master’s degree in counselling. 

Mr. Vaughan was well-known in the community. He attended church at St. Édouard and, for many years, was a fixture at the coffee shop at the Depanneur Rouge with his friends. He was easy to spot or at least hear; Kaye had a distinctive deep voice and never lost his American drawl. 

Kaye and Lucile lived on a six-acre property in the Glen. 

“My father’s favourite pastime was landscaping,” said his son Jake. He added his father was always a natural athlete and played golf and tennis. “And he wasn’t a bad skier for a guy from Kansas.” 

Kaye Vaughan was born on June 30, 1931. He died in Knowlton on February 5. He is survived by his wife Lucile, his children, Jake and Myrle, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.