Melissa (Missy) Vaughn, after a four-year battle with cancer, went to her Lord on Sept. 19, 2014. She fought the good fight with all she had, and no matter how much she wanted to stay for her family, she could not win that battle. And so, in the end, she went peacefully surrounded by family.

Missy Simmons Vaughn was born in Talladega, Ala., to Rosemary and Walter Simmons. As a “Navy brat,” she moved to various locations over the years. Rosemary was later remarried, and Missy came to call Charles Devers “Dad.”

The life of a Navy brat took the family to Millington, Tenn., where she would graduate high school in 1991.

At the age of 18, following in the footsteps of her father and stepfather, Missy enlisted in the Navy. During Missy’s time in the Navy, she met and married Lewis Beauchamp and later had her first son, Mason.

Throughout her Navy career, Missy served as an Aviation Ordinanceman on F-14 fighters (VF-211) and SH-60 helicopters (HS-8 & HS-10). While cross-training as a Corpsman aboard the USS Nimitz, she met her future husband, Darren Vaughn. With Darren, Missy would go on to give birth to her second son, Trevor.

After eight years of service, Missy left the Navy to focus on her family. As a Navy wife, her service experience, along with a huge heart, was reflected in her position as Ombudsman for VAW-112 and treasurer for the local Whidbey Island DAV chapter, assisting service members’ families and veterans navigating military life and the cumbersome Veterans Affairs system.

In 2011, Missy achieved her lifelong goal of graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, Magna Cum Laude. She devoted her free time to her family and enjoyed those many adventures together. She loved the wilderness and the ocean, so she camped, boated and hiked as much as she could. As a kid at heart, a trip to Disneyland was always in the plans.

She is survived by her loving husband of 14 years, Darren; sons, Mason and Trevor, of Oak Harbor; mother, Rosemary Devers, of Adamsville, Tenn.; father, Walter Simmons, of Munford, Ala.; sisters, Michelle Parsley and Sabrina Atchly, of Portageville, Mo.; sisters of the heart, Micky Hart, Dawn London, Kerry McNiel and Kim Young; as well as many family members and longtime friends. Her stepfather, Charles Devers (Dad), precedes her in death.

Till we meet again, Missy … We will love and miss you forever.

Memorial services for Missy will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, at Living Word Oak Harbor Foursquare Church in Oak Harbor, Wash.

Since education was very important to Missy and seeing her boys achieve their dreams was her last wish, the family has set up the Missy Vaughn Memorial College Fund for her children. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for contributions to be made to the Melissa Vaughn Memorial College Fund at any Navy Federal Credit Union or to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc., Anacortes, Wash., and the San Juan Islands.

To share memories of Missy, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com