SANTA FE - David Randall Vaughn passed away on July 9, 2026, in Houston, TX, aged 54. He was born September 26th, 1971, in Texas City, TX. to Debra Bolton Worley and Herbert Randall Vaughn.

His parents were very young however and separated soon after his birth, but he was the first grandchild on both sides of his family and was immediately beloved.

When David was 4 his mother married Jerry Worley Sr., and so, between the families of both his parents and his stepfather, he had three families that he loved and kept in touch with, many of them all throughout his life.

Despite struggles in recent years David would often use the phrase “turn lemons into lemonade” whenever life got hard. When life did get hard, or if he felt he was misunderstood or treated unkindly, David wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. He was always quick to just forgive and forget.

David was always a happy and fun loving child, and very intelligent. In fact his first grade teacher even remarked that he would climb on top of his desk and act like “a little smarty”!

At age 6, David's new brother Jerry was born and they maintained a close relationship throughout their lives. Although Jerry was physically limited due to muscular dystrophy, as children growing up together it never made any difference to David and he always included and took care of his little brother.

Growing up, Jerry and David were also friends with another pair of brothers in the neighborhood. Billy who was David's age and Randy who was Jerry's age, and they were also close with their mom who they called their “Aunt Nancy”.

There are many stories of childhood rivalries between the older boys and younger ones, often playing “war games” in the sand piles in the front yard. Once David and Billy shot a robin with their BB guns and tried to grill it on the barbecue pit, and little Jerry and Randy didn’t approve and snuck up and put sand all over it to “ruin it for them”!

Billy later had a skateboard ramp built in his yard that they loved to skate on. Staying young at heart, David still thought about skateboarding to this day but recently remarked that he shouldn’t be thinking of it any longer because of the risk of injuring himself and no longer being able to work.

As his brother Jerry got older and his disease progressed, David didn't shy away from helping him in any way he could. At one point David raised the whole shower stall off the floor in Jerry's bathroom to allow space for the lift needed to get Jerry in and out.

David was also very close friends for life with Darrin, another boy from the neighborhood. The day school started Darrin even came over to get David so they could go together.

When David was 14, his first sister Darla arrived, and when he was 18 his second sister Holly was born. He loved them both of course, and although he didn’t live with them for long while they were growing up, he always asked how they were and enjoyed their company. He even developed a caring relationship with his sister's boyfriends (and later husbands) as well as his nephew, Wyatt.

David not only had many close friends in Santa Fe but during his last high school years he moved to Cleveland to live with his beloved Grandma Vaughn, and he developed many close friendships there as well.

On his 21st birthday he had a huge party at his parents home in Santa Fe with both sets of friends from Cleveland and Santa Fe. He loved that event and often reminisced about how great it was that they all got together.

Although David was always very smart he wasn’t particularly interested during high school, but when he began attending college he really applied himself to learning. He attended college first in Kingwood, Texas then moved to the University of Houston. Supported by his grandmother and father he earned a chemical engineering degree from U of H. David definitely had the intellect and aptitude to work through difficult engineering problems, and he once remarked that in his field, he had encountered math problems that took up to 6 hours to work out, but he didn’t mind those challenges.

During his college years he had a girlfriend named Veronica who he learned the teachings and traditions of the Jehovah's Witness from and although no longer practiced, he maintained some of those beliefs throughout his life.

After graduating college he worked in a laboratory in Tomball, Texas, doing research and development. During this time he had a relationship with a girl named Liz who he loved very much, and after they separated they still maintained contact.

In his later 30s in the years following that he worked various jobs and had many ups and downs as he admitted he hadn't “learned to make lemonade” yet. He eventually landed a job at a cooling tower company where he traveled across the US and was paid “per diem” which he said he really enjoyed. However, it wasn’t a steady livelihood and he fell back on waiting tables, a skill he developed during his college years and used often in his life.

He later talked of working offshore but was hesitant due to seasickness in rough waters, but he finally went to work for Harbor Offshore Marine Incorporated out of Galveston, as a seaman named on the supply vessel “The Green Night” and soon after on the “Sir Gwain” in the Houston ship channel, and he was awaiting reassignment to a third vessel at the time of his death.

He was a conscientious hard worker and got along with his fellow seaman and captains and had recently even begun studying to become a captain himself.

His story ended there, all too soon, and he has left so many friends and family members deeply saddened by his death and we know he will be sorely missed.

David was preceded in death by his grandpa and grandma Vaughn, his grandma Bolton, uncle Johnny Bolton; brother, Jerry Worley, Jr.; sister, Holly Worley Kilberger; cousins, Cristy Shaffer and Joey Bolton.

He is survived by mother, Debra Bolton Worley; stepfather, Jerry Worley Sr.; sister, Darla Moore, her husband, Josh Moore and son, Wyatt Moore. His grandfather, James Bolton Sr.; Uncle Jim Bolton and wife, Debbie, Uncle Danny Bolton and Aunt Susan and many cousins and their families. On his father's side, father, Randall Vaughn and wife, and three brothers, Aunt Beverly Vaughn, Uncle Ricky and wife, Karen and their children and Aunt Vicky and daughter and Uncle Greg Vaughn and wife, Donna and children. He had many close relationships with many of these cousins from both sides, particularly his brother, Ryan Vaughn.

Visitation with the family will be from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. with a memorial service at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 17, 2026, in the chapel of Hayes Funeral Home, 10412 Highway 6, Hitchcock, with Pastor Joshua McDonald officiating.

A celebration of life will follow at 3:30 p.m. at the VFW Hall 8248, 901 Main Street, La Marque, Texas 77568 with food and refreshments provided.

In lieu of flowers the family has asked to honor him by planting a tree or donating to your favorite charity in his name.