Valentine William Vaughn Jr., P.E.

Valentine William Vaughn Jr., P.E., age 91, died at Advantage Assisted Living on Wednesday, June 29, 2026. He always liked to be called Val and not Valentine. Val was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Eve Dermenstein; his father, Valentine William Vaughn, Sr., and his wonderful wife, Elizabeth "Liz" Mary Tarr. He is survived by his children; Valerie E. Steen, Robert L. Vaughn, and Alex T. Vaughn; grandchildren, Elizabeth G. Vaughn, Matthew V. Vaughn, Reina A. Melchor, Miranda T. Capshaw, Alex T. Vaughn II, Claire S. Vaughn, William R. Vaughn, and Jared W. Vaughn; and great-grandchildren, Eva, Sammy, Mateo, and Levi Melchor, and Cheyenne Coffman-Vaughn.

Val was born Friday, May 10th, 1935, to Eve and Val Sr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, where he spent his childhood. He graduated from Gentilly Terrace Grammar School, Alcee Fortier High School, and Tulane University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Val was exceedingly active in both the high school R.O.T.C. where he was a member of the Drill Team, and in the Pershing Rifles Drill Team while at Tulane. He graduated 3rd in the mechanical engineering and was in the upper 10% of the Tulane's Class of 1957. Because of his academic performance, he became a member of PHI ETA SIGMA (national freshman honor society) and Tau Beta PHI (national engineering honor society). During his school years, he participated in baseball, archery, track, hunting, and weightlifting.

Val entered the U. S. Army as a Reserve 2nd Lieutenant in 1957 and was then promoted to a Regular Army 2nd Lieutenant by an act of Congress. While in the military, Val served 2 years in the Artillery as the S-4 (Head of Maintenance and Supply) for the 1st Howitzer Battalion, 10th Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany. He took over the S-4 position after the Battalion failed a Command Maintenance Inspection and turned this rating around to a superior rating prior to returning to the Transportation Corps. He was awarded a unique position in the Transportation Corps. He was named Department of the Army Detachment Commander and Engineer for the Overland Train Mark II project, reporting directly to the Commanding Officer of the Transportation Board who reported to the Chief of Transportation. The Overland Train Mark II was the World's largest and at 700 feet long, longest rubber-tired land vehicle. He was responsible for the final construction, acceptance, shipping, and initial Yuma Desert testing. Val was promoted to Captain in 1962 and returned to civilian life in 1963.

Something wonderful happened in Schweinfurt, Germany, he met a young American school teacher, Elizabeth Mary Tarr, who liked to be called Liz. Every year, a new group of schoolteachers arrived in Schweinfurt and that was great for all the bachelor officers stationed there. Val was a senior 1st Lieutenant at that time. One evening, the Provost Marshal knocked on Val's door in the bachelor officers' quarters and told him that he should go to the Officers Club and introduce himself to the girl reading a book in the front lobby. He did. It was love at first sight. Then in 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana they were married and enjoyed 57 years of travel and life together.

During Val's 45 years of professional engineering and construction, He obtained a Professional Engineer's License (P.E.) in the State of Texas, and held the following positions: Division Engineering Manager, Ingersoll-Rand Company; Senior Engineer, Head Office Shell Oil Company; Principal Engineer, Pullman-Kellogg Company; Director of Engineering and Assistant to the President, Skytop-Brewster Company; Vice President Engineering, Delta Builders Inc.; General Manager, Engineering and Support Division, Cactus Drilling Company; Assistant to the Chairman, Solvex Corporation; Senior Project Manager, Ford, Bacon and Davis; Vice President of Engineering, Risun Corporation; Owner and Director, Vaughn's Engineering Consultants, for a 10 year period. In 1977, he represented Pullman-Kellogg and the United States Government for many months in "Old" China, resolving engineering and manufacturing problems at 6 locations all over China, a unique experience involving having a private steam train for his travel. Other unique experiences included: being a guest of the Crown Prince of Jordan to review their research in oil recovery from tar sands and oil shale; spending months in Nigeria resolving problems at a major gas transmission facility; building offshore and onshore production and transmission facilities to include an offshore facility in the Straits of Magellan.

Val was in Who's Who in Texas 1974. He held memberships in: Society of Tulane Engineers; A.A.U. Gulf Association; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Society of American Military Engineers; National Society of Watch and Clock Collectors; National Rifle Association; American Legion Post 71 in West Jordan, Utah and American Legion Post 99 in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the 1990s. He also served as a Board Member of the Paradise Hills Civic Association and was an elected Zoning Commissioner for the Paradise Hills Special Zoning District, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, for many years.

Last, but not least, Val was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. The last years of his life were lonely without his beloved Liz.

A visitation will be held on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a Funeral Service at 11:30 a.m., at Chester T. French Memorial Mausoleum at 924 Menaul Blvd NE Albuquerque. The graveside service will follow at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery, 924 Menaul Blvd NE in Albuquerque. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Val Vaughn, please visit our floral store.