Obituary of Vaughn R. Meiners

Vaughn Meiners 65 years old from St. Petersburg FL passed away Wednesday October 19, 2022 At Tarpon Bayou Nursing Home in Tarpon Springs FL. He is survived by his daughter Jill Arielle Meiners and her fiance Blake Knierman. He is also survived by two cousins Frank and Doug Meiners and their wives along with several second cousins.

Vaughn was a licensed optician for 42 years in the St Petersburg area AAA Optical shop and also opened and worked in various optical shops and stores in the area. He took care of his parents  when they became ill. He raised his daugter Jill from 3 years old to become a beautiful young woman of whom he extremely loved and was very proud. He grew up riding dirt bikes unicycles and  loved riding his motorcycle and going to Biff Burgers in St. Pete on Wednesday night  where he took his daughter Jill and won many trophies.

He also enjoyed going to Bike Week in  Daytona Beach for many years until his motorcycle accident in 2018. He also loved playing corn hole. He loved his music room where he had several guitars and an electronic mandolin hand made for him. He loved playing his music and working on his guitars. He was also an avid shooter with several gun clubs which  was one of his hobbies along with photography. He built a beautiful yard with bricks, bushes, flowers and plants; a picnic area a fire pit area and a beautiful swing.
He was an avid runner in middle school and high school winning many awards. He also was accordian state champ for many years in Pinellas County.
He enjoyed riding miles on his bike around Sirmon's lake and taking photos of the lake; animals birds and old banyan trees. He loved feeding the squirrels! He enjoyed taking many photos at Jungle Prada and the marina in St. Petersburg. He also loved listening to his music with his many cds with his special amplifiers.

Vaughn is predeceased by his son Alex V. Meiners, his sister Valerie Meiners and his father Howard J Meiners and his mother Joanne C. Meiners.

We want to thank the Pearl Team and the Burgundy team from Suncoast Hospice, Bayou Gardens staff and Tarpon Bayou Center Nursing Home for their support and care. A special thank you to his caregiver; best friend/significant other Ellen Tischio  for taking care of him over these past few years.

Donations can be made on line at VVA.com to the Viet Nam Veterans  Association or via mail  Viet Nam Vets of America 8719 Colesville Road Suite 100 Silver Springs, MD 20910.

In lieu of flowers outside plants would be appreciated.

Visitation will be on Saturday afternoon November 19 at Anderson McQueen funeral home. Guest may start arriving at 12. Service will be held at 1pm  at 7820 38th Avenue N. St. Petersburg FL 33720 .
A private burial service will be held after the memorial at the Memorial Park Cemetery.  A celebration of life will be held in the near future.