Dorothy Kathleen Hughes

Kathleen Hughes, age 88, of Chapel Hill, NC entered Heaven’s gates on April 12, 2019.
    A loving wife and mother, Kathleen was born in Princess Anne, MD to Frank and Dorothy Fitzgerald on May 23, 1930. Kathleen attended State Teacher’s College in Salisbury Maryland (now Salisbury State University), where she received several achievement awards, and where she met and later married her classmate, Elmer G. Hughes, who had just served in the U.S. Army Air Corp.
     Kathleen and family moved to Chapel Hill, NC in 1953. During this time Kathleen worked full-time as an administrative assistant in the offices of Colonial Press and Colonial Records. She delighted in her job which included proofreading for the newspaper and promotion of records, with Andy Griffith, Dizzy Dean, George Hamilton IV and others cutting their first recordings there.  Kathleen also was an active den mother in cub scouts and very active in the local Methodist Church and its youth fellowship program.
     Kathleen and the family moved back to Maryland in 1957, but returned to Chapel Hill in 1970 where Kathleen completed her bachelor’s degree in education at the University of  North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC with highest distinctions and membership in the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa.  Following her graduation at age 39, she taught primary grades, mainly first grade, for 24 years at Central Elementary in Hillsborough, NC. She was a remarkable elementary school teacher and the recipient of numerous awards over the course of her enjoyable teaching career, including regional Teacher-of-the-Year. Kathleen retired in 1996, and, for many years leading up to her passing, she enjoyed her participation in the Alpha Delta Kappa sorority, serving as president and holding other offices.
     Kathleen is survived by her loving husband of 71 years, Elmer G. Hughes, age 98, and her three sons: Elmer (Julie), Patrick (Will), and Jeffrey (Nikki).  She is also survived by her granddaughter Lola Hughes and her daughter-in-law Debra Jo Hughes. 
      A funeral service celebrating her life will be held of Monday, April 22, 2019 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 100 Weiner Ave, Harrington, Delaware at 1 pm. A visitation for friends and family will take place 1 hour prior. Interment will follow immediately after at Hollywood Cemetery, Harrington.

     Walkers Funeral Home of Chapel Hill, NC has been entrusted to care for the Hughes family in partnership with Thomas E. Melvin & Son Funeral Home, visit us at www.melvinfuneralhome.com to express your condolences to the family.

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