Richard Vaughan Edenfield

April 15, 1947 – November 20, 2014 Following years of persistently defying treatments and complications of laryngeal cancer, the angels of mercy slipped Richard Vaughn Edenfield away from his home in Pegram, TN, into God’s place of eternal righteous peace, where burdens of physical challenges can harm him no more. The son of Margaret Vaughan Edenfield and the late US Army Capt. Robert Alexander Edenfield, Richard was born in Augusta, GA on April 15, 1947. He was baptized, confirmed and served as an acolyte at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tallahassee. He was a Cub Scout and an avid young sportsman, playing football, baseball and winning the Tallahassee Soap Box Derby in 1961, going on to win second place in the national race in Akron, OH. A graduate of Leon High School, Richard joined the US Marine Corps in 1966 serving in Viet Nam where he completed three tours of duty executing secret missions as a helicopter tail gunner. Sgt. Edenfield was awarded the Good Conduct Medal at the US Naval Air Station in Los Alamitos, CA. He was honorably discharged in 1972. After earning a degree in nursing at Valencia College in Orlando, FL, Richard enjoyed a diverse career as a Registered Nurse, working in hospital, travel and forensic nursing. The last ten years of his career he worked in the ER of the Veteran’s Tennessee Valley Healthcare facility in Nashville, TN as a trauma/telemetry care RN. In addition to nursing, Richard enjoyed the profuse wildlife, flora and trees around his Tennessee mountain log home, playing his vast collection of dobros and guitars and sharing the company of his good neighbors and three adored pet cats. Richard is survived by his mother Margaret V. Edenfield of Tallahassee, FL, sister and brother-in-law, Betty Edenfield Piephoff and William J. DeAngelis and a niece, Erin Piephoff, all of Atlanta, GA. Richard’s family would like to express their gratitude for years of exceptional and compassionate care provided to him through services of the Nashville VA Medical Center. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, December 9 at 11am at Roselawn Cemetery (843 Piedmont Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32312). In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Richard’s name may be made to St. Peter’s Anglican Church, 4784 Thomasville Rd., Tallahassee, FL 32303 or to Veteran’s Tennessee Valley Healthcare, 1310 24th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212-2637. Elizabeth Chambers of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the family with their arrangements (850-385-2193, www.bevisfh.com) Semper Fi soldier! Rest in God’s eternal peace.

Tributes

Richard Vaughan Edenfield

April 15, 1947 - November 20, 2014