Donald Vaughn Rackley
Donald Vaughn Rackley, 92, of Hixson, Tennessee, went home to be with his heavenly father on Friday, May 24, 2024. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends.
Don was a member of Covenant Baptist Church where he directed choir and sang gospel music. He participated in regular gatherings for gospel singing hosted by local restaurants and churches. He served in the Marines as an airplane mechanic two years active duty, six years in the reserves, and retired from Combustion Engineering after 28 years. Because he was active in Scouting and his grandchildren’s lives, he was known to many in Chattanooga as Papaw.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Ernest Monroe and Minnie Vaughn; brothers and sister: James Ernest, Mary Gladys Pruett, and Raymond Doyle; son, Donald Wayne; and grandchildren, David Allen and Anna Danielle.
Don is survived by his wife of 70 years, Betty Shipley; daughter-in-law, Nancy Reinhart; grandchildren: Donald Jay, Andrea Norris, Johnathan Daniel, and Adam Christopher; and great-granddaughter, Isabella Grace.
The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday and 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Thursday at the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home.
A Celebration of Don’s Life will follow at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, at the North Chapel with Reverend Gladden Coe officiating. He will be interred at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, Tn. 37343.