North Bend honors Betty Vaughan, known for small acts of kindness

Spending the great majority of her 86 years in the Valley, Betty Vaughan has made a lot of friends, and dozens of them packed a ceremony last week to honor the lifelong volunteer and recipient of North Bend’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

July 22, 2008 2:47 pm
North Bend Councilman David Cook and his daughter Jillian help Betty Vaughan celebrate her Lifetime Achievement Award at a July 15 reception. Perhaps best known for donating knitted items
North Bend Councilman David Cook and his daughter Jillian help Betty Vaughan celebrate her Lifetime Achievement Award at a July 15 reception. Perhaps best known for donating knitted items

Spending the great majority of her 86 years in the Valley, Betty Vaughan has made a lot of friends, and dozens of them packed a ceremony last week to honor the lifelong volunteer and recipient of North Bend’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

“She has done small acts of kindness her entire life,” Mayor Ken Hearing said before presenting Vaughan with a plaque at the City Council’s July 15 regular meeting.

Hearing praised Vaughan’s work with myriad organizations including the March of Dimes, the North Bend Library and Mount Si Senior Center.

She worked at the food bank for years, and volunteered space in her garage to run it for several years.

Anna Ash, Vaughan’s daughter, remembered camping out as a girl with the Cle Elum riding club. For a week each year, Vaughan would host girls whose parents couldn’t be there.

“In school, my mom drove everybody to all the games, dances, movies; we always had a car full,” Ash recalled.

Vaughan has also shuttled neighbors to medical appointments in Seattle, sometimes teaching them to drive in the city so they could be more independent.

One labor of love stood out above the rest to members of the crowd: Vaughan’s knitting. Since 1985, she has made countless blankets and pairs of slippers to warm the feet and hearts of Valley children.