Major Richard Vaughan Gaffney

He was born in West Somerville, Massachusetts to Edwin Percy Gaffney and Clara Isabelle Vaughan Gaffney. He was married on July 14, 1934 in Concord Massachusetts to Marthe Cleo DeGagne who died on March 16, 1977. He is survived by one son, Richard M. Gaffney, Jefferson City; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was a former member of All Saints Episcopal Church, Great Neck, New York; a fifty-year member of Ransomville Lodge No. 551, Free & Accepted Masons; a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 832 in South Portland, Maine; the University of Maine Alumni Association; served as Treasurer of Union Free School District No. 7; and was past president of the New York State Association of School Business Officials. As a boy, he reached the rank of Star Scout with Boy Scout Troop 10 in Great Neck, New York. As an adult, he served as Scout Master of Troop 216, Great Neck, New York; was neighborhood commissioner with the Nassau County Council, Boy Scouts of America; and was Post Advisor for Explorer Post 108, Great Neck, New York. Memorials are suggested to Wesley United Methodist Church, Highway 179 and Wesley Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109. He was a U.S. Army Lieutenant during World War II and a Captain during the Korean Conflict where he formed a Boy Scout troop for North Korean Prisoners of War for which he received the Honorary Chief Scout Commissioner Award from the Korean Boy Scouts. He was a member of the first graduating class of North Senior High School, Great Neck, New York, in 1931; received a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree from the University of Maine, class of 1935, where he was a member of Omega Mu Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity; and the Master of Science in Education degree from Columbia University where he received a permanent certificate as a science teacher. He was a "tree skinner" following his graduation and helped prepare the grounds for the 1939 New York World's Fair.