After a valiant two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, Thomas James Hughes passed into eternity on Feb. 13, 2018, at home in Lake Forest, CA. Through it all he maintained his exuberant love of life, family, friends, sports and travel.
Born Oct. 17, 1942, to Hugh and Jean (Stone) Hughes in Utica, Tom spent his idyllic boyhood years in his beloved Skaneateles. In Skaneateles Central School, “the bespectacled junior jump shooter” (as described by the Syracuse Post Standard) competed in basketball and baseball, shattered a few sports records and was voted Most Popular in his Class of 1960.
He attended Oak Ridge Military Academy, where he was recognized as Battalion Commander and voted president of his class. He finished his academic career at Atlantic Christian College, now Barton, playing collegiate baseball.
He married Judith Turner, his hometown sweetheart, in April 1967, with whom he had two sons, Mark and Eric. In 1969, they moved to Southern California when Tom was promoted as sales manager for Welch-Allyn Inc. As Western Regional Sales Manager, Tom was recognized by the Industry Association HIDA as a public speaker/presenter.
He married Constance (Becker) Hughes in 1979; they had two sons, Brian and David. That same year, Tom went to work for Mettler Electronics of Anaheim, a manufacturer of physical therapy products. He wore a number of hats, including national sales manager, but he treasured time at home with his family and eventually crafted a dual role as company representative and owner of Thomas Hughes & Associates.
Tom rarely missed practices or games of his sons. Tom’s identifiable voice carried across auditoriums and ballfields, chastising referees/umpires, cheering on his boys and their teammates. Long after his own sons had grown and moved away, Tom followed trajectories of the neighborhood boys, encouraging and counseling them along the way.
Tom leaves behind his wife Connie, son Eric (Suzanne), son Mark (Stephanie), son Brian (Julie), son David (Cristina) and 12 beloved grandchildren: Grace, Lily, Stella, Bryce, Luke, Jack, Brett, Davis, Ava, Kate, Robert and Elena. He is also survived by his brother Bill of Mt. Solon, Va, and his family, and his sister and brother-in-law Sil (Priscilla) and Carl Young of Colonie, N.Y. and their family. He was predeceased by his sister, Judy Babcock (Duane), in 1978.
Tom loved playing, watching and reading about sports: “Every day’s a great day!” he would say. Because of the years of delight that sports provided for Tom, the family is setting up a matching-contribution athletic-scholarship fund that will subsidize young athletes in areas of transportation, equipment and uniforms. Contact [email protected] for more info.
A celebration of Tom’s life will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 5, in the First Presbyterian Church, East Genesee Street, Skaneateles.