Lawrence C. "Toby" Vaught III
NEWPORT NEWS - Lawrence C. 'Toby' Vaught III, 29, unexpectedly passed away at home Thursday, July 6, 2006. He was a lifelong Peninsula resident, was a 1995 graduate of Williamsburg Christian Academy, and was a 2001 graduate of Virginia Tech - 'Go Hokies'! Toby was a volunteer with Make-a-Wish Foundation, where he was a wish grantor and helped coordinate their events. He enjoyed off-roading and driving. Spending time at the beach and being in the sun were some of his favorite pastimes. He was his Mom's first graduate of 'Mom's cooking school.' His terrific sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him. 'Go Hokies'! He is survived by his parents, Lawrence C. Jr. and Jane Vaught of Providence Forge; his sister, Jane Elizabeth Lane and her husband, Bret, of Quinton; his brother, Joshua William Vaught of Fredericksburg; his grandfather, Lawrence C. Vaught Sr. of Hampton; his grandmother, Jane Cofer of Pullman, Wash.; and a host of other loving family, dear friends and co-workers. 'Go Hokies'! The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Peninsula Funeral Home. A funeral service will be conducted 2 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, followed by burial in Peninsula Memorial Park. Toby had several projects he was involved in at Make-a-Wish Foundation. In order to continue those projects, in lieu of flowers, please make donations to Make-a-Wish Foundation, 240 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Virginia Beach, VA 23462.
Ok! I am sure most of you have heard of Myspace before. Well I have a myspace account, so tonight I signed on my account and out of curiosity I decided to search and see if Toby had an account. Well I found him on myspace, and my heart is even more broke. Me & Joe promised we would get together with the other guys at the fire house and let Toby go in for the day to see what life is all about as a fire fighter. Unfortunately time went by and never in a million years did we think it was a rush to get him on the truck and then we found out the tragic news of his passing....I am already sad about not getting him to the fire house yet and then I read one of his blog's on myspace and my heart has just been crushed. Here is what Toby posted On April 6, 2006:
Thursday, April 06, 2006
AAAAHHHH!
Current mood: happy
Category: Life
Ok, so I've been rather busy, hence the lack of any form of updates recently... I've got 4 Wish Kids going (still the best part of my life!), working 50 hours a week, got the Make-A-Wish Wheels and Heels Committee meetings (May 6 - Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg - Hit me up if you wanna go!), plus all of the wonderful household things that you used to call "chores" when you were a kid, but now you call them "life"... Oh yeah, and ummm, any form of dating? Yeah, what's that again? Oh well, at least the weather has been nice!
Oh yeah, new pic. (Took down the old ones because I was tired of them... Please ignore my total lack of fashion in this pic. It was actually raining that day, and I was outside assembling a freakin' awesome playground. That's the only thing that I had that was water resistant aside from a jacket that I really didn't want to get mud all over...) I got to get in a fire truck! I know, total kid at heart when it comes to the whole "fireman/fire truck" thing. The Hampton Fire Dept came out to one of my MAW kid's house and let me get on the truck. They're trying to find a good time for me to come down and hang out at the Fire Station with them. How cool is that? Awesome group of guys. (They even offered to take me on a ride in the truck.) Ok, I'll end by geekyness here...
Toby Has A Guestbook On The Daily Press Online; Click The Pen Below If You Would Like To Write Atlittle Something To His Family!
Lawrence C. "Toby" Vaught III
Unforunately Toby above; passed above unexpectedly in in his home July 6, 2006. We are in shock to her this sad news. He was so young. Such a wonderful, funny, loving human being. His presence will sure be missed! Joanna was Toby's first wish kid. Toby and I had laughed so hard over those months of planning her special wish!Sandwiched in my husband's truck with Carma making our 10th trip to the store for more supplies, stacking loads of brick and timbers laughing the whole time as our hands were covered in sticky sap. The joy he brought to me, my little girl and our entire family was unbeleivable. Me and Toby clicked from the start of the wish. Working side by side even in the pouring rain to help build my little ones super duper playground.Very timid Joanna had made her a new friend by the end of those few months. From sitting in the floor tracing Toby's hand on a magna doodle to letting him swing her on her brand new swing set; she had found a friend in him. As Joanna's wish came to a end I was so sad to say good bye to such a wonderful human being. I cried like a baby! I felt almost as if I had lost my best friend. But of course to brighten that moment I looked up only to see Toby and his cute, big grin. Joe's friend's from the fire department had pulled up in front of the house in the fire engine. Toby was like a big kid. He had me outside taking a ton of pictures of him on that fire truck. Ever pose he could make. Boy what some wonderful memories I have of him. I will never forget Toby! He will always have a special place in our hearts. I may have only known him a short while, but it only takes a minute to love someone as wonderful as him. God Bless his family!
Joanna & Toby First Picture Below!!
Forever In Our Hearts!
Jenna Bug
Joanna was granted her Make A Wish In March of 2006. What they have given our little girl is undescribable! The best gift of all was her smile! Make A Wish was always something that I read about, never something that I thought would be taken place in my own back yard, much less to my own child. Joanna was born a mircle and she was put on this earth to show us what the power of love and strenght can do! It was so amazing to see how much our family has grown since her birth! The people we know and don't know have gone beyond belief to help us and bring lots of smiles to Joanna's face! To us that is priceless! Joanna is featured on the Make A Wish Website and also shown in the news letter below!! I provided above their website address; just click the clink to read the story and see pictures! Also Please take a minute to read other children's stories and how Make A Wish has made them smile! These people go above and beyond to help children just like Joanna! They will always have a very special place in our hearts!
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My Playground
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Toby, Joanna & Dave
The Construction Begins...
My Beautiful Playground
Toby Digging Away
Toby
Joanna
Loving That Balance Beam
The 8th Annual Charity Golf Classic For Make A Wish
It is with great pride and gratitude that Chartway Federal Credit Union and the We Promise Foundation recognize Fidelity National Information Services as the titile sponsor for the 8th Anuual Charity Golf Classic. Their commitment is shared by all our sponsors and donors, whose support and generosity through the years has enabled them to raise more than $1,000,000 to make dreams come true-enough money to give 186 kids struggling with life-threatening illnesses their one true wish!
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We had a complete blast that this wish event. It started off alittle rocky when Joanna was scared to ride in the limo over to TPC Golf Course but after that she had a wonderful time. Iam so glad we got the opportunity to be envolved with this. We enjoyed the presence of several other Make A Wish kids and their families, the loads of wonderful volunters and also got to meet Rudy Boesch from "Survivor", Morgan Fairchild, & Peter Cetera from the group "Chicago". Each and every person was truely amazing. From the minute we arrived until the minute we left we were embraced by the love of all the people who put this event together! Thanks A Million!
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Written By Toby's Dad On August 25, 2006 In The Daily Press Guestbook For Toby:
August 25, 2006
Dear Toby,
It has been a month since anyone has written in your guest book. I just want you to know that I miss you so much and that I love you. I try to fill in the gap of your presence to those you loved and who loved you .... but the gap is too huge for me to begin to fill. All I can do is to hold them tightly for you.
I just visited the site joannalee.net and clicked the Make A Wish link to see her playground. Although I cried hard it made me so proud of you. I often wondered if my children would ever know how much I loved them. Love is only love when one freely gives it away to another.
In the past few weeks I have learned how you freely gave your love to so many others. Joanna is a smiling example of the reflection of your love. I guess you did know how much I loved you.
Dad
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