Laughlin, Val Joe 

OVERTON -- Funeral services for Val Joe Laughlin, lieutenant colonel, retired, USAF, 52, 
of Marshall, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, May 22, 2006, at the First Baptist Church 
in Overton, with the Reverend Eddie Hillburn and the Reverend Charles Paschall officiating. 
Burial, with full military honors, will be in the Overton City Cemetery, under the direction 
of Cottle-Pearson Funeral Home of Overton. Lt. Col. Laughlin died Thursday, May 18, 2006, 
at his residence in Marshall following a three-year battle with cancer. He was born October 
31, 1953, in Overton, to Eugene and Margarettee Fuller Laughlin. He was a 1972 graduate of 
Overton High School. He was also a graduate of Baylor University where he was a member of 
the ROTC. Lt. Col. Laughlin served in the United States Air Force from 1977 until he retired 
in 2000. He received many honors for meritorious acts while serving in various military 
conflicts and wars. Lt. Col. Laughlin was also a retired professor from the Texas State 
Technical College where many of his students considered him a close personal friend as well 
as their teacher. He loved music and was a member of Bobby "Mercy" Oliver's Band Jam City 
Revue of Marshall. He was talented and could play many instruments. Lt. Col. Laughlin was a 
member of the First Baptist Church in Overton. He was preceded in death by is father, Eugene 
Laughlin; a brother, Mark Lynn Laughlin and his first wife, Susan Wininger. Survivors include 
his wife, Barbara Laughlin of Marshall; a son and daughter-in-law, Jason and Laura Laughlin 
of Marshall; a daughter and son-in-law, Valerie and Patrick Rushing of Kilgore; his mother, 
Margarettee Fuller Laughlin of Overton; a brother and sister-in-law, Jon and Ann Laughlin of 
Batesville, Mississippi; a sister and brother-in-law, Lana and Robert Young of Overton; a 
granddaughter, Erith Rushing of Kilgore; numerous nieces and nephews; and very special friends, 
Mimi Mills of Marshall and Lisa Harper and her son, Hunter Harper of Marshall. Memorials, if 
desired, may be made to the Overton Cemetery Association, 205 N. Meadowbrook, Overton, TX 75684. 
The family will receive friends 4-6 p.m. Sunday, May 20, 2006, at the funeral home. Online 
registration and condolences are available at www.cottlefuneralhome.com.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 5/20/2006.