Kathy Ann Vaughn

Kathy Ann Vaughn was born on July 25 1974, in Aberdeen, Wa. She grew up in Grandview, where she was cherished and loved unconditionally by her parents, Robert and Anna Garman. As a young woman, she met and married Dean Vaughn, and in 1992 she gave birth to their precious son, William (Billy) Vaughn. She supported his dreams, and goals with passion and pride. In 2011 when he encouraged her to “get a grown-up job”, Kathy began the RN program at YVCC. Later that year she met Dalleri while working at Olive Garden. For Kathy and Dalleri it was “love at first sight”, and the two quickly became each other’s biggest supporters. They were frequently referred to as a “power couple” by those who knew them.

In 2013 Kathy graduated from YVCC and began her new career in nursing. If you were meeting her for the first time, you would know in the first 2 minutes she was an ER nurse and how much she loved it. Throughout her career, she worked at over 10 different hospitals and prided herself as a critical care and trauma nurse in the emergency department. Kathy brought excitement, authenticity, compassion, and confidence to every shift she worked. Facing the pandemic, her skills and passion for travel took her to the frontlines of COVID as a travel nurse. She worked at facilities all along the West Coast where she established ongoing friendships with coworkers and other travel nurses from across the US.

She was a perfect example of “work hard play hard”. She always had a trip or two planned and lived life to the fullest on every adventure she took. While on these adventures, she was always on the lookout for the biggest and best Bloody Mary she could find. After losing Billy in 2018 her desire to travel only increased as she pursued working on his “bucket list”. After 10 years of making memories and building a life together Kathy and Dalleri snuck off to Las Vegas and were married in a beautiful private ceremony, followed by a breathtaking trip to Paris in 2022.

Kathy was a very loving and dedicated daughter to her sweet “momma” Anna. She loved including her on several of their adventures, and always showered Anna with love and affection. They were two peas in a pod and loved spending time together. Kathy had the unique ability to make everyone she met feel like they were the most important person in her life. She was a loving, loyal, generous and caring friend to all. The loss of her witty personality and infectious smile will be enormously missed by all that knew her.

Kathy is survived by her wife Dalleri Olels, sweet pup Bella, Aunt Gloria husband Jim, Uncle Kenny wife Sally, Uncle Joe wife Sandy, loving cousins, great nieces and nephews, and a countless ED family. She is preceded in death by, her father Robert Garman, son William Vaughn, Mother Anna Garman.

Graveside services will be held on Friday 2/9/2024 at the Zillah Cemetery at 11:00 AM

A celebration of her life will follow at the Zillah Warehouse.