Ms. Helen McMillian Vaughn

Helen M. Vaughn, 65, of Tampa, FL, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 11, 2026, surrounded by her family at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, FL.  Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, 3901 Tampa Rd., Oldsmar, FL 34677, with Pastor Quawn Green, Officiating. 

Helen was born on August 10, 1960, in Sumter, SC, to the late Albert (Russell) Yates; also raised by the late Marion James Cabbagestalk and surviving mother, Bernice M. Ray of Sumter, SC.  Helen graduated from Hill Crest High School in Dalzell, SC, in 1981. Later, she relocated to Tampa, FL, where she and her former spouse, James M. Vaughn Jr., raised and cherished their two daughters.

Helen, the eldest of her five siblings, was a devoted mother and grandmother. She was also a dedicated employee. Over the course of her career, she worked for various companies, including the Main Exchange at MacDill Air Force Base, Facs, JP Morgan Chase, Dillard’s, Anthem and Tampa General Hospital as a Transplant Coordinator.

Throughout her life, she has always cherished and loved being a mother, attending church, working, traveling, cooking, watching the news, shopping, spending quality time with her family and friends, and being a loving grandmother to her grandson, Xavier A. Broadwater. Helen, a God-fearing woman and a child of God, had a smile and a sound of laughter that could brighten any room she entered. She had a heart of gold.

Helen M. Vaughn is preceded in death by: her father, Albert (Russell) Yates; her father, Marion James and brother, Michael Yates.

She leaves to cherish her fond memories: her two daughters, LaShaunda Monique Vaughn, and Katrina Renee Vaughn; one grandson, Xavier Allen Broadwater of Tampa, FL; her mom, Bernice Ray; her sisters, Maryann Ray, Naomi Ray, and Earline (Jose Mac) Maccou, all of Sumter, SC;  best friend/sister, Doris Benjamin of Tampa, FL; two brothers, Freddie Ray and Thomas Ray (Alysia); a host of nieces, nephews and cousins that she loved unconditionally, along with an abundance of friends.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, 3901 Tampa Rd., Oldsmar, FL 34677

Arrangements entrusted to Ray Williams Funeral Home, Rhodes & Northern, Owners

www.raywilliamsfuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ms. Helen McMillian Vaughn, please visit our floral store.