Steve Vaughn, a longtime Orlando Sentinel editor known for his easy manner and sense of humor who later became a widely successful photographer of Florida landscapes, died Oct. 11. He was 83.
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Vaughn wrote his own obituary, filled with with his characteristic wit, weeks ago and his family posted it on his Facebook page on Monday. That’s how hundreds of friends, photographers, artists, civic leaders and former co-workers learned of Vaughn’s death.
“If you’re reading this, I’ve had a permanent out-of-body experience,” Vaughn wrote. “Thought I had beaten Melanoma following a two-year fight. But no! Tricky little stuff, that Melanoma. Finally got me. But listen: Do not despair. I enjoyed a fabulous life.”
Vaughn worked for the Sentinel for about 25 years.
“He was a very kind, talented, artistic person. It was like having Jimmy Buffett walking around the newspaper,” said Sal Recchi, a former Sentinel editor. “He didn’t have much respect for the corporate rules. He would listen and work with you in developing ideas. He just left a legacy of kindness.”
By noon Tuesday, more than 400 people had written remembrances on Facebook, sharing similar sentiments.
“What a friend we had in Steve,” wrote Dave Wisor, a former Sentinel employee.
“Steve was exactly the type of kind and resourceful manager that I would spend my own career trying to emulate,” wrote Kenneth Amos, also a former employee.
A native of Atlanta, Vaughn began his journalism career at the University of Florida, where he worked at the student-run newspaper the Florida Alligator and was named journalism student of the year in 1965.
One of his first jobs was at the now defunct Cocoa Tribune, where he worked as a magazine editor. At the same time, he was a member of the Army Reserves during the Vietnam War.
In 1967, Vaughn was hired by the Sentinel as a sports writer and later became executive sports editor. He and his wife, Renae, then moved to Orlando.
By 1982, Vaughn was executive editor of the paper. Defying the old-school stereotype of the hard-nosed, gruff newspaper boss, Vaughn often mentored young reporters in a serious but friendly and encouraging manner. He also served for a time as president of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.
Vaughn started photography as a serious hobby while he was an editor. And he often worked late at night in the Sentinel’s dark room practicing the craft.
After a large staff reduction at the Sentinel in 1992 that brought an end to his journalism career, Vaughn came home and told his wife about his new plan.
“He said: ‘Renae I’m going to do photography for a year. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll go back to journalism’,” she said. “He could do anything. He would’ve been successful at anything. And he chose to be a wonderful person.”
The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this month.
“We just had a fabulous life, a wonderful life, together,” she added.
Within months his photographs of sprawling landscapes, vibrant beach scenes, and winding rural roads surrounded by fall colors soared in popularity.
He toured Florida and the southeastern United States in his van, heading from art show to art show.
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On the front passenger seat by his side was a well-read and worn atlas book that guided him along scenic backroads. He would often stop, take a look around, think, and then compose a photograph.
“My work is for the people who love Florida,” Vaughn told a reporter in 2000 at one of his art shows. “I’m doing what I enjoy. I now hope that the people that see my work enjoy them as much as I do.”
His daughter, Kelley Vaughn-Kauffman, of Brooklyn, NY, recalled helping her father regularly build up his inventory of art work because it would often sell out at art shows. As he sold photographs to art show patrons, she would run to the van, grab more prints and return to put them up on display.
“He was interested in creating something new every day,” Vaughn-Kauffman said. “He had to create something every day. …And he was just a phenomenal, phenomenal father.”
In fact, Vaughn’s work became so sought after that he bought a building in 2004 on Fairbanks Avenue and opened Tropics Gallery, where he displayed and created his work.
“I finally found a job where I don’t have to go to meetings,” he gleefully told his wife.
The Orlando International Airport displayed his large scale panoramic photos of Florida in the main terminal, and those images were one of the first things arriving travelers would see after stepping off the shuttles.
Photographer Steve Branyon, of Fern Park, who was mentored by Vaughn called him “indefatigable” in his work ethic.
“He was very, very committed to his craft,” Branyon said. “He would visit a scene over and over again in an effort to get things just right.”
Vaughn typically rode his bike about 10 miles a day. But a few weeks ago, his cancer returned. Doctors said there was little they could do, and his condition worsened rapidly.
On Oct. 3, his family asked him where they should place a hospital bed in his home. He said in the living room in front of the television so he could watch his beloved Florida Gators football team battle the University of Missouri Tigers. The Gators lost. But Vaughn remained cheerful, even so.
At the end of his self-written obituary, Vaughn offered a directive to his friends.
“Enjoy every sandwich,” he said.
Besides his wife and daughter, Vaughn is survived by his son, Michael, of Winter Springs; five grandchildren; and brother, Glenn, of Dallas, Ga.
A celebration of Vaughn’s life is planned for early 2027. Vaughn wrote a rule for attendees in his obituary: “Beachy attire, happy time, not a funeral.”
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