Marshall &Kay Family  Histories

History of B. Vaughn Marshall

by Yvonne KAY Marshall

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well here goes! I’ve felt for some time now that I should write about Vaughn’s life. After he died on Nov 29th 1998, I looked for a while for something that he may have written about his life but I was not able to find much. He kept a mission journal and many letters from friends and family. He also kept a lot of work related correspondence. I found notes written here and there about his thoughts and plans. Lastly, I have his novel and poems which contain a number of his own experiences. Somehow I still feel he has written something more and perhaps I will find it later or one of our children will find it after I leave. Vaughn loved to write and I will do my best to gather all his writings and copy them so that all the family may be able to have and enjoy reading them. I think much of who he was is contained in the things he wrote. He was a very sensitive, loving person. It is difficult to use the past tense ‘was’ because that sounds as though he really is gone. I know that he is not physically here anymore but he seems here. The other evening a friend asked me if I was alone, meaning, was I divorced or widowed. I shook my head and started to say no and suddenly had to stop myself and answered yes, I was a widow. I thought about it for a while and realized that I don’t often feel alone. I get lonesome for his presence but there is something of him that stays with me and is very comforting. I’m not a very good writer but I am encouraged to go forward with his history because I have been strongly prompted that it is something that I’m supposed to do. At birth Vaughn was given the name ‘Billie Vaughn Marshall’. I recall that during our married life he would often express his wish that he’d been given a different spelling for his name. These are his words on the matter. They are taken from the Personal History he started but did not complete.

 

 

“PERSONAL HISTORY OF BILLIE VAUGHN MARSHALL” “It’s about time, 0r more accurately, passed time for me to seriously write my personal history. I may enjoy it. The Church says we all should write our own stories, that is, our autobiographies. My children may find some interest in the events I share. I won’t reveal all of my errors and mistakes: not just because of the length it would add, but after all, they never provided me with the same privilege. Finally, since I have this urge to say something as prologue, it is not about eternity, but about time-----my time. I will start with events, places, documents, thoughts, hopes, and whatever comes to mind and then detail these in other parts of this narrative as I’m impressed to. A word processor is a wonderful gadget.”

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“My name is Billie Vaughn Marshall. Yes, I know, Billie should have been spelled with a ‘y’, but you see I was not in a consulting position at the time of the naming. I suppose that was a year for ‘Billy’ for boys and perhaps ‘Billie’ for girls and, oh well, at least I was not named ‘Sue’. My father’s name was William (William Elias Marshall) and he went by the name ‘Bill’. Obviously there could not be ‘Big Bill’ and ‘Little Bill’ so my parents called me by my middle name. To them I was Vaughn. Much to my chagrin I was still referred to years later by uncles and aunts as ‘Billie-Vaughn’. I have adjusted to it all by signing my name as B. Vaughn Marshall. I was born on 17 March 1930 at Castlegate, Carbon County, Utah.

 

I have two siblings. My elder sister, Elaine, who is married and known now as Elaine Murray and the mother of six children and grandmother of numerous [grandchildren] (the number is known to her). Her husband is Thomas Reed Murray. My older brother is named Leone Ervin. Leone was killed as he was hit by a car when he was about six years old just before he was to start school. My mother, Irene, has related to us in her personal history his short story and how special he surely is. I am looking forward to seeing him again (not necessarily soon), and really getting to know him since I was only four years old when he died.”

 

Vaughn’s personal history ends here. It would be wonderful to be able to read more of what he intended to write. I do pray that I will be inspired to write what he wants to be recorded concerning his life. Needless to say he and Leone are probably sharing experiences together in the Spirit World now.

 

Since I have been talking about some of Vaughn’s feelings about his name I thought I’d include another tidbit before going on. I found a copy of a letter, which he had written to Group Health Cooperative, concerning his application for Medicare. I have decided to include the whole letter because it gives an interesting insight into his sense of humor. The letter is dated Feb 15, 1995. Following the usual heading the letter goes:

 

“My name is Billie Vaughn Marshall, hence the name on my group health card as B V Marshall, (not B Marshall), which should be the same as your records, you know, as in initial B, initial V, and then my last name of Marshall.My birth certificate lists my name as Billie Vaughn Marshall. I don’t care much for the ‘Billie’ because it is not spelled in the masculine form – my mother assures me she was not secretly hoping for a girl – but when I use it I do so as the initial ‘B’ or I sometimes feel brave and spell it with a ‘Y’. I used to know a man named ‘Shirley’ and he never used that name either. He preferred to be called Bill after his other name, ‘William’. Or there’s the song about “A Man Named ‘Sue’" sung by …. Well, …. Some one with a regular name. You get the picture, right?

 

 

Now to carry on with what I remember about Vaughn’s life. He would mention something every so often or maybe answer a question I would ask, but he wasn’t in the habit of talking much about his life. In fact, most of our children remember that trait also. Vaughn’s mother recorded a few things about his early childhood in her personal history which I’ll include. I’ll also write the stories about his childhood that his mother and sister told me.

 

This is probably a good place to make a statement about my memory. I apologize in advance for the different way I may remember the stories I’ve heard. Perhaps some of the things I will write about will be very different from the way they happened or are remembered by others. Wherever possible I will include other versions that are shared with me.

 

 

We Start here at the birth of Billie Vaughn Marshall