Rev. E. Vaughn Powell: 1922 – 2008
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Rev. E. Vaughn Powell, 85, widely acquainted resident of Churubusco and pastor emeritus of Churubusco United Methodist Church, died at 2:15 a. m. on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. He had been in declining health for the past several months.
Rev. Powell was born on September 12, 1922 in Linneus, Missouri, a son of Alonzo Everett and Marian Rebecca (Stone) Powell. He spent his formative years in Linn County, Missouri, and graduated from Linneus High School in 1940.
As a young man he served with the U. S. Army during World War II, and was married in Hot Springs, Arkansas on November 5, 1944 to Marie W. Sperry. Following his military discharge in 1945, the couple moved to Indianapolis and lived there for ten years. He attended the Jordan School of Music at Butler University, and was called into public ministry at Whitestown in 1958.
Rev. Powell attended Garrett Biblical Institute in Evanston, Illinois, and was a pastor in the North Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church for 32 years. The couple moved to Churubusco in 1990 following his retirement. Pastorates included Kirklin-Lanes Chapel, Mulberry, Otterbein, Churubusco, and LaGrange.
In addition to his ministerial career, his life was marked by affiliations and memberships in several organizations. He was a member and past secretary of Churubusco Lodge 515 F&AM, and was a past master. A member of the Churubusco Lions Club, he had held various Lions Club local and district offices, and was a member of the Gilbert Davis American Legion Post 157 in Churubusco.
An amateur magician, he was a member of the Order of Merlin–International Brotherhood of Magicians for 35 years. He served as a chaplain for the Indiana State Police for many years, and for 24 years served on the board of directors for the Indiana United Methodist Federal Credit Union, serving as its president for ten years. He always volunteered for various community and civic activities, enjoyed traveling, and had a heart for missions and the underprivileged.
The surviving relatives include his wife Marie, to whom he was married for over 63 years; five daughters Linda (Gene) Marshall of Mulberry, Jean (Steve) Wiyatt of Effingham, Ill., Stephanie (Robert) Drake of Champions Gate, Fla., Kimberly Powell of Leo, and Kris (Jim) Fry of Churubusco; a sister Nina Birney of Sublette, Kansas; ten grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters Vera Rinehart, Leona Reid, and Mariam Stillwell; and four brothers William Bradley Powell, Francis Stone Powell, Raymond Alonzo Powell, and Gerald Powell.
Funeral services will be held at 4 p. m. on Saturday, May 31, at the Churubusco United Methodist Church with the Revs. Christine Newman-Jacobs, James Copeland, and David Michel, officiating.
The family will receive friends at the Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco on Friday from 2-4 and from 6-8 p. m., or at the church one hour prior to the service.
Interment will be in the Riverview Cemetery, south of Churubusco, with military graveside rites by the U. S. Army.
The family requests that memorials be directed to the Churubusco United Methodist Church, 750 N. Main Street, Churubusco, IN 46723, or the United Methodist Committee on Relief, P. O. Box 9068, New York, New York 10087
**************************************
To leave a condolence for the family in Rev. Powell’s memory, please click on “Condolences” below. . .
Karen D. Brinkley, 45, a resident of Noblesville and formerly of Fort Wayne and Churubusco, died at 6:45 p. m. on Sunday, May 25, 2008, at St. Vincent’s Hospice Home in Indianapolis. She had been in declining health for the past two years.