September 20, 1957
THE REBELATION
(From records gratiously provided by Anna Jean Gaissert, Class of 1959)
BROWN HIGH WELCOMES 2ND PRINCIPAL
"Anything in Good Tradition" To Be J. E. DeVaughn's Policy"
"I'm going to work with the students as well as the faculty," was the
statement issued by Mr. J. E. DeVaughn, Brown High School's new principal.
Mr. DeVaughn comes to Brown as the second principal in the history of the
school. He succeeds Mr. A. G. Martin who retired in June of 1957 after 35
years of service at Brown.
***
BROWN'S SECOND PRINCIPAL HAS VARIED BACKGROUND.
Mr. J. E. DeVaughn, principal of Brown High School, is an experienced
teacher, coach, soldier, and principal.
Upon earning his B.S. in Education in 1936, Mr. DeVaughn spent the next
five years at Tech High School where he coached football and taught
English.
He then entered the military service for five years rising to the rank of
major. A member of the 88th Infantry Division during World War II, Mr.
DeVaughn fought in the Italian Campaign. However, his miltary career did
not end with the completion of active service. He is at present a
lieutenant colonel, instructing and commanding the general staff school at
the Reserve School in Atlanta, which is a finishing school for officers.
In the five years following his active service in the Army, he became known
as "Coach" DeVaughn as he assumed the responsibilities of head coach at
Brown.
Mr. DeVaughn said that he had always considered coaching a sideline in his
life. However, this "so-called sideline" paid dividends in 1949 when he led
the Brown High football team against Glynn Academy to win the state
championship. When asked what an outstanding highlight of the state
champion team of '49 was, Mr. DeVaughn replied, "The boys were outstanding
students as well as good athletes." Although still interested in sports,
he plans to be a spectator from now on.
Following his coaching assignment at Brown, Mr. DeVaughn became principal
of Peeples Street Elementary School. As to his five years at this school,
he stated that it was "one of the finest experiences I have ever had," and
that "working with younger pupils has made me appreicate an elementary
school much more."
From 1960 Laureate
Atlanta Constitution, January 6, 2000
FULTON COUNTY
JAMES EVERETTE DeVAUGHN, 86, of Hayesville, N.C., formerly of Fulton County, died Sunday. The body was cremated. Memorial service, 2 p.m. Jan. 15, Westview Cemetery, Atlanta; memorial service, 4 p.m. Jan. 16, Hayesville First Methodist Church; Townson Rose Funeral Home, Murphy, N.C.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sunday • January 9
OBITUARIES: Everette DeVaughn, 86, high school, college educator
Celia Sibley - Staff
Sunday • January 9
Everette DeVaughn had dodged water moccasins and sinking bogs at home in Alabama, but he had never made an end run with a pigskin.
But it didn't matter. When he started work at Tech High School in Atlanta in 1937, straight from Alabama's Auburn University, he was fascinated by the football team's plays and strategies and jotted down a few of his own, said his wife of almost 30 years, Jane DeVaughn of Hayesville, N.C. They were so successful on the playing field he was asked to become assistant football coach, she said.
Mr. DeVaughn worked at Tech High from 1936 to 1947, when he moved to Brown High School, where he led several Brown teams to state championships.
His players included Pepper Rodgers, who later led Georgia Tech to two bowl victories and then coached football at UCLA, Georgia Tech and the University of Kansas; Charlie Brannon, who became a Southwest High School coach; and real estate mogul John Hunsinger.
Dr. James Everette DeVaughn, 86, died of bladder cancer Sunday at his residence in Hayesville, N.C. The body was cremated. Memorial services are at 2 p.m. Jan. 15 at Westview Abbey Chapel and at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 at Hayesville First United Methodist Church. Townson Rose Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. DeVaughn did not attend school until he was 9. His mother was afraid for him to walk through the swamp without being accompanied by a brother, his wife said. His high school graduating class in Deatsville, Ala., near the Coosa River, had three students, including him.
Encouraged by a principal, he went on to earn a master's degree in English at Emory University and a doctorate in education administration at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York.
He was an Army veteran of World War II and a member of the Army Reserves until he was 62.
After coaching, Mr. DeVaughn become an administrator for the Atlanta city schools, a relationship that lasted 32 years. He was one of the educators who helped guide the school system over the course of integration, his wife said. "He was a scholar, not a coach," she said.
In 1968, Mr. DeVaughn went to work for Georgia State University's College of Education. He was chairman of the Department of Education Administration when he retired in 1982. He moved to Hayesville, but kept his Atlanta residence.
Survivors other than his wife include three daughters, Kay DeVaughn Williams of Wetumpka, Ala., and Emily Michelle DeVaughn and Wanda DeVaughn Brooks, both of Acworth; two stepdaughters, Joan H. Cole of Marietta and Gwen H. Macy of Columbia; two stepsons, Jack Rushin of Hayesville and Gray Hungerford of Atlanta; three grandchildren; and nine step-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that contributions be made to the Georgia State University Foundation's J. Everette DeVaughn Fellowship, University Plaza, Atlanta GA 30303-3083.