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QUEENS, NY – Ovell Vaughan was born on January 12, 1943, the second youngest of six children born to Juanita Everette Vaughan and Matthew Vaughan in Northampton County, North Carolina. He lived for 80 blessed years until the Lord called him home on May 8, 2023.

Ovell loved people, and after graduating from W.S. Creecy High School in 1960, he began what would be a lifelong commitment to public service and the care and protection of others.

From 1961 to 1967, he proudly served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve, honorably discharging from service as an Army sergeant. He worked as a foreman for Talon Zipper Company for more than 10 years. Then in 1982, Ovell answered his calling and pursued what would become his true passion – a career in law enforcement where he courageously served his community and became an avid advocate for young children.

During his more than 20 years of service with the Murfreesboro Police Department, he championed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program in elementary and middle schools. Always seeking to advance his knowledge and hone his skills, he gained a vast array of certifications through the North Carolina Department of Justice, North Carolina State University, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Center for the Prevention of School Violence, and numerous community colleges.

Ovell’s life changing work as a youth mentor helped countless youth successfully avoid or recover from drug use, gang activity and violent behavior. Whenever he was out in public, it was common for young people who he had mentored to approach him with handshakes, hugs and thanks for the impact that he had in their lives.

After a life well lived, Ovell now dwells peacefully with the Lord. He leaves to cherish his memory two sisters, Pecolia Vaughan and Mary Arlethia Rogers, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and beloved friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Juanita and Matthew Vaughan; his sisters, Effie Lurenia Stancil and Shirley Doris Vaughan; and brother, Elijah Vaughan.

Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, May 16 at Roy L. Gilmore Funeral Home in Queens, NY, followed by his burial at Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum in Farmingdale, NY.