Fulton, Vaughn Claar

Born on March 13, 1925 in Colome, South Dakota to Alva and Blanche Fulton.
Died on March 11, 2009 in Geneva, NE
Married to Marian Neiman in Fullerton, California on June 21,1947. In 1993, Vaughn met and married his second wife, Betty Diekhoff.
Parents of three children: Nicolee, Terri, and Bill.
Vaughn lived with his parents on a farm in Colome, South Dakota until sandstorms and grasshopper plagues caused his parents to decide to move to Geneva, NE and own and operate a Gambles store in 1934.
After graduating from Geneva High School, Vaughn had a Navy career and was stationed in California where he met Marian.
Before being sent to Europe, the war ended and Vaughn returned to Nebraska where he enrolled in Wesleyan University.
After only a year in school, Vaughn’s father was killed in an auto accident and he changed directions.

He and Marian were married and moved to Geneva to take over the Gambles store at 858 G Street.
In 1951, Vaughn purchased the old Hrubesky Furniture store at 926 G and moved Gambles to that location where it remained until 1984 when it was sold to the Loontjer family.
In 1958, Vaughn purchased the Rialto Theater at 948 G. It stayed open at this location until 1963 when it moved to the Geneva City Auditorium.
In 1963, Vaughn remodeled the front portion of the former theater building to be used as the Haz-Way Coffee Shop.
In 1970, Frances Linder Brahmsteadt took over the cafe and renamed it Fran’s Cafe.
In 1985, Vaughn expanded the furniture and carpet business into the entire building until closing it in 1994.
In 1993, Vaughn met and married his second wife, Betty Diekhoff.
Vaughn kept an office downtown long after retirement and loved keeping up with what was going on in Geneva. Some of the stories of his local sightseeing trips with Charles Ashby, Claiton Lauber, and Kenny Hofferber were headspinning.
Besides being a long-time businessman, he was a longtime member of the Methodist Church.