Joseph P. Vaughan

Joseph Peter Vaughan, who flew kites across the world to entertain sultans and delight children, drifted off peacefully from this life on Jan. 15, 2016, circled by loving family, friends and neighbors. He was 85. Joe was born into poverty in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, the fourth of Mary McBride Vaughan’s six children and a largely absent father. Though smart and curious, Joe was more drawn to the trouble he could find on the streets than to rows of school desks, and he dropped out of school at age 16. In spite of these inauspicious beginnings, education was very important to Joe and he obtained his GED, a bachelor of science in biology (University of Maine) as well as a master’s and doctorate degree in education from Penn State University. Joe spent his early years teaching high school in Maine before relocating his family to Pennsylvania to join the biology department at Bloomsburg State College (now Bloomsburg University). Over the next 20 years, Joe enthusiastically taught biology, marine biology and anatomy and physiology, earning the reputation for being the kind of teacher students wanted to have. His retirement from BU in 1986 was only the beginning of a new career, a professional kite flier. He bought Grandmaster Kites, the maker of a modern version of the ancient fighter kite, and learned old and developed new techniques for flying so his kites danced in the air, even indoors in churches and theaters. He once flew a kite to accompany the Santa Fe Opera Company and another time at the Franklin Institute, where he deftly landed the kite on the lap of a statue of Ben Franklin. He attended international kite festivals and as Grandmaster Joe, became a beloved part of a far-flung brotherhood of kite lovers. Though technically a business owner, he certainly gave away far more kites than he ever sold. Perhaps his generosity and liberal politics stemmed from understanding how much the world had given to a boy born into dire poverty. He circulated the good that had flowed into him. He sometimes took a shell from his beautiful collection to create “shell fortunes,” his version of a fortune cookie, tucking a strip of paper into the spiral and giving it to a grandchild or visitor. On the uncurled strip you’d find an original message from Joe, such as the one his granddaughter, Celeste, discovered after his passing, which said “There are pleasures undreamed of in our future.” With his first wife, Anne Dunlap, he had four daughters: Rebecca Vaughan of New York City; Sue Vaughan of San Francisco; Jennifer Vaughan Almeida of Chelmsford, Mass., and Rachel Spayd of Rochester, N.H. Joe’s second wife, Pamela Bisker, died of cancer after only a few years of marriage, but he remained devoted to her for the rest of his life. Along with his daughters and his sons-in-law, Steven Almeida and Randall Spayd, Joe is survived by his siblings: Dorothy Gabrielson of Morristown, N.J.; Alice Malloy (brother-in-law Frank) of Queens, N.Y.; James Vaughan (sister-in-law Marilyn) of Fairfax, Va., as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Joe is also survived by his precious and long-awaited grandchildren: Eleanor and Celeste Almeida and Ryan and Avery Spayd, whom he assured everyone were well worth the wait. Joe was predeceased by his sister, Mary Hanna, and brother, William Vaughan, as well as brothers-in-law, Robert Gabrielson and Frank Hanna. Donations in memory of Joe may be made to the “Jospus Coloring Book Project,” care of Geisinger Columbia Montour Hospice, 400 Glenn Ave., Suite 200, Bloomsburg, PA 17815. This fund pays for coloring materials that will keep hospice patients creative and peaceful to the end. A Celebration of Life will be held in May 2016.

Joseph P. Vaughan

May 19, 1930 - January 15, 2016