Corey Vaughan was Channing Tatum’s “first best friend.” Vaughan died on August 21 in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. On August 23, Tatum posted a lengthy Instagram message that paid tribute to his friend. Tatum wrote, “My very first best friend Corey Vaughan left this world for the next this Tuesday the 21st. Man there’s so much to say. I’ll never forget his crazy ass and how he stuck up for and protected me when I first moved to Mississippi. He’d fought anybody. All the laughs and trouble we go in. I’ll never be able to see that smile of his again in this life. And it just made me need to remind everybody don’t put off anything. Seeing a friend, or even calling or texting. You never know what’s next.”
The post continued, “Corey would have want us to laugh and raise hell in his wake and have as much joy as anyone can make. He sure did. And I’ll forever miss ya man. Love ya my brother.”
Instagram/Channing TatumTatum posted this photo along with his touching tribute to Vaughan.
William “Corey” Vaughan’s funeral will be held at the Ocean Springs Chapel at Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Homes on August 25, according to his Sun Herald obituary. No cause of death has been made public.
Vaughan was the owner of Vaughan Heating & Air Conditioning in Ocean Springs. On their official website, Vaughan wrote that he founded the company in 2008. According to his Facebook page, Vaughan was married with two children. Vaughan married his wife, Briana Kunz Vaughan, in October 2009. Vaughan was a graduate of Pascagoula High School. His brother is Casey Vaughan, a councilman in Gautier, Mississippi.
Facebook/Corey Vaughan
A tribute to Vaughan that was posted under his obituary read, “I knew Corey and Briana as they were great friends to me. I don’t think i can compare the love they had for one another to anyone else. Briana was his #1 as well as Corey was hers. We lost a great friend , and Corey will be truly missed . He loved his children and his family dearly.” Another read, “Every time I was around Corey and Briana, it made me smile. They loved each other so much. My heart is broken for this beautiful family. Corey was an exemplary man in every way. He will be so missed.”
Tatum, a native of Alabama, moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi, when he was six years old. In an Alabama.com interview, Tatum said of his southern roots, “All my family’s in Wetumpka, Alabama, on my mom’s side. Some people in Birmingham. We moved from Cullman pretty early… We moved to Mississippi for a little while, Pascagoula, Gautier, and then Florida. All around the South. Anywhere where they say y’all. That’s where I call home.” A 2014 visit that Tatum made to southern Mississippi was widely covered in the media.
