Brenda Lyttle Vaughn

Brenda L. Vaughn, wife of Dr. John C. Vaughn, went to be with the Lord, September 2nd, 2013. She passed peacefully from the arms of her beloved husband into the arms of her beloved Lord! In so doing, she finished a life lived to the glory of God and a job well done. Her death concluded a remarkable life of glorifying God and ministering to others through great personal trials and suffering. She served as a pastor’s wife and mother of five in addition to counseling, writing, and sharing her testimony the world over.

Brenda was born on September 27th, 1948, in Harlan, Kentucky, to William H. Lyttle Jr. and Wilma Mills Lyttle, and received Jesus Christ as her Savior at the age of seven. In 1978, she discovered her life’s message when she and two-year-old daughter Becky miraculously survived life-threatening burns in a house fire. Brenda’s commitment to trust and glorify God through the trials that followed has directed untold numbers of people to draw on the all-sufficient grace of God just as she did.

Following the fire, God gave her thirty-five years filled with opportunities to serve, every one of which she counted a personal privilege. In addition to thirty years of ministry with her husband at Faith Baptist Church, she traveled to camps and churches in almost every state and to over thirty foreign countries. She and Dr. Vaughn co-authored More Precious than Gold: the Fiery Trial of a Family’s Faith, in which they shared the testimony of the fire. Becky’s injuries and resulting disabilities led the Vaughns to found the Hidden Treasure Christian School for children with special needs.

The final chapters of Brenda’s life displayed her constant faith in her battle with Hepatitis C which she contracted from a blood transfusion in the aftermath of the fire. Despite declining health, and being less and less able to travel and speak, she rejoiced to glorify God and serve her family with her remaining strength. Though her life was truly remarkable, she thought of herself as unworthy to be so used of God and cherished, most of all, her roles as wife, mother, and “Grandma.”

In addition to her husband, Dr. John Vaughn, she is survived by four children—Deborah Vaughn Locke and husband Tim, John Michael Vaughn, Rebecca Morel Vaughn, Joseph Carroll Vaughn and wife Kimberly; nine grandchildren; and two sisters, Dora Sherry of Sarasota, FL, and Sheila McLandsborough of Covington, OH. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and step-mother, Ollie Lyttle of Heidrick, KY, and her fourth child, Daniel Wayne Vaughn of Taylors, SC.

Visitation will be held at Faith Baptist Church, 500 West Lee Road, Taylors, SC, on Friday, September 6th from 4:00 to 9:00 PM. The funeral service will be held at the church on Saturday, September 7th, at 1:00 PM. A graveside service will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hidden Treasure Christian School, 500 West Lee Road, Taylors, SC, 29687. www.woodlawn-fh.com