Vaughn Douglas Fuller

SCARBOROUGH – Vaughn Douglas Fuller, 90, of Scarborough, husband to Marie, his lifelong love and wife of 68 years, father of six, grandfather of 12, great-grandfather of five, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.

In his 90 years, he was a naval aviator, a veteran, a bush pilot, a beloved teacher and coach, an artist and an architect, a sports enthusiast, a Maine Guide, an avid hunter and fisherman. He loved his wife, family and friends, good company, canoe and motorcycle trips, good food, fun games, laughter and meaningful conversation.

Vaughn was the only son of Jesse P. Fuller, an educator and state representative, and Venessa M. Fuller, who became a teacher at the Brown School in South Portland after Jesse passed away. Vaughn spent most of his childhood in their family home on Hillside Avenue in South Portland and attended South Portland High School where he met his sweetheart and bride-to-be the lovely Marie Lavigne.

Vaughn attended Brown University on the ROTC program, graduated, married Marie, and traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he began his naval career and the Fuller family began to grow, first with Martha, then Jesse in Pensacola, Fla. During these years, Vaughn was a Lieutenant Commander—a flight instructor and a pilot flying off aircraft carriers during the Korean war—where he solidified friendships that would last his lifetime. Vaughn left the Navy and he and Marie returned to Maine where he taught for a short time at Erskine Academy. Soon he reenlisted at Quonset Point, where Thomasin was born, and returned to Brown University to earn a master’s degree in English.

Vaughn then continued his teaching career at Lincoln Academy in Damariscotta, where John, Amy and Sarah were born, completing our family, and where he met Doug Covell, a fellow teacher. Doug and his wife, Kay, Marie and Vaughn spent some of Dad’s happiest days on the Allagash, canoeing, carrying, camping and fishing. Later, they added motorcycle trips to their annual traditions, traveling to Nova Scotia and other points north.

The bulk of Vaughn’s teaching career was spent living in Yarmouth and teaching at South Portland High School where his efforts touched so many over his twenty-six years there. He taught math and English courses to students who, whether they excelled or not, always remembered him as a thoughtful teacher who cared about the quality of education in his classroom. Everywhere he went, for the rest of his life, he met grateful students who let him know his teaching and guidance had made an impact on their lives.

Vaughn’s proudest moments at South Portland were spent as a baseball and basketball coach, particularly his years coaching the South Portland Girls Basketball team and winning the state title in 1977. He gave his all to his team of talented women players who in return became a second family to him and continued to stay in touch.

Over the years, Vaughn found ways to pursue his passion for flying. Summers were spent passing helicopters over potato fields in northern Maine and delivering anglers to remote Maine lakes via float planes. The crop dusting was not without peril, and we kids loved to hear his stories of survival, including gaping at the twisted cables he saved as a souvenir from an encounter with poorly marked wires.

As a father, Vaughn was strict, but also spontaneously silly. Anyone who knew him well will remember his favorite stories—including The Black-Maned Lion and Hello, Statue? Family time was important and summer vacations for years were six kids and a dog crowded into the back of a Bronco or Blazer and headed to Searsmont on the St. George River, where we stayed in the camp he, Doug and we kids helped build—working for (Circus) peanuts! While in Searsmont, we could visit “the big house” in Montville where Vaughn’s mother and the large Davis family lived and where she bought the smaller house across the street.

Dad celebrated his passion for fishing every year in June, when a group of friends, sons, and sons-in-law would convene at his friend George’s camp or a lodge where they created new fishing stories to last the year. Once he established the tradition, Vaughn never missed a trip.

After retiring from South Portland, Vaughn taught for a few years at North Yarmouth Academy, then headed to Dover Foxcroft where he and Marie opened the Foxcroft Bed and Breakfast. There they hosted musicians from around the world, hospital staff and outdoor enthusiasts headed to Baxter State Park. Vaughn taught classes at Foxcroft Academy, painted signs and found time to focus on his love of watercolor painting and photography, resulting in beautiful works that reside in the homes of friends, family and others who saw his talent and purchased his work. Vaughn and Marie also hosted foreign exchange students one year, with the happy result of creating another lifelong bond—this one with a German student, Göetz, who, along with his parents, became friends who hosted Vaughn and Marie in Germany and who, as an adult, remained close to Vaughn all his life.

Vaughn had a deep appreciation for small pleasures and took joy in watching birds at the feeders, admiring and eating delicious food (he got lucky with Marie who spoiled him and us with her cooking), observing beauty in nature, reading a good book or seeing a friendly face. He never ceased to amaze us with his ability to strike up conversations with strangers.

Vaughn lives on in the hearts of the many who loved him and in all the lives he touched. He is survived by Marie, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Martha and Dirk Hulshoff; Venessa and Dan Ossenfort (Jaeden, Dieter, Gus and Orson), Catherine and Fernando Flores, William Hulshoff, Jesse and Eva Fuller (David and Luke Fuller), Thomasin and Peter Marietta (Sara and Gordon Heyworth), John and Donna Fuller (Ben and Jacqueline Fuller – Felix Vaughn Fuller, Quinn and Sebastian Ruderman, and Joe and Travis Perron), Dr. Amy R. Fuller and her husband Greg Lorello (Cooper and Caroline) and Sarah and Troy Malbon (Emma and Abby).

There will be a celebration of Vaughn’s life on Saturday, June 17 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 4 Fowler Farm Road in Scarborough.

To view Vaughn’s memorial page or to leave an online condolence for the family please visit http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers,

please consider honoring Vaughn’s love of dogs with

a donation to:

the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland