The Honorable Hugh C. Humphreys died at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx on February 26, 2023, near Fitch Sanitarium, where he was born on June 11, 1934. He was 88 years old. A Renaissance man, Hugh loved the law, books, art, music and history. Known for his humor and quick wit, he delighted in the laughter of friends and family.
Judge Humphreys spent his formative years in Ramsey, NJ. He attended Don Bosco Prep High School, where Polish Salesian priests and brothers taught him the power of words and instilled in him a lifelong love of learning. His fellow classmates, including refugees who emigrated to the United States after surviving the traumas and tragedies of World War II, had a deep impact on him and his belief in serving others.
Hugh graduated from Villanova University in 1955, served in the U.S. Navy aboard a destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1961. While at Columbia, Hugh worked for legal scholar, Julius Goebel, Jr., conducting extensive research of Alexander Hamilton’s archives in both New York and Washington DC. After law school, Hugh became an associate at Donovan, Leisure, Newton and Irvine where he practiced for two years before becoming an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Criminal Division under Robert Morgenthau.
After leaving the United States Attorney’s office, Hugh and his wife, Liz, moved their growing family to Cazenovia, where he worked as an associate at Nottingham and Carroll in Syracuse, before opening his own firm in Hamilton, N.Y. Following years of private practice, Hugh was elected to serve as a Madison County Court Judge in Wampsville, N.Y., where he presided for 17 years over criminal, probate and family court cases until retiring in 2001. After retirement, he continued to work in the New York state legal system, on a pro bono basis, for the Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York. In addition, for over three decades, Hugh was an adjunct professor at Syracuse University College of Law where he taught courses in evidence, trial practice, and law and literature.
The family farmhouse in Hamilton, surrounded by rolling hills and pastures, won and held Hugh’s heart for all the years of his life, as did the village of Hamilton and the people of his community. Over the years, passers-by might find him walking one of his many dogs along the Chenango Canal or cross-country skiing in the hills behind his home.
Hugh loved the snowy winters of Central New York and its bucolic landscape, often the subject of his paintings.
Hugh was an avid writer of short stories and plays. His extensive research on the history of the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement in Central New York led him to create numerous works including the Madison County Historical Society’s publication “Agitate! Agitate! Agitate! The Great Fugitive Slave Law Convention and its Rare Daguerreotype” and a scholarly monograph and play “Oh Freedom!” which he brought to life on stage at the Earlville Opera House with the help of local actors and singers. Hugh was an ardent supporter for the development of the Peterboro Emancipation Day at the Gerrit Smith Estate and a founding member of the National Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro, NY, where today his large-scale painting “Come Join the Abolitionists” greets all who visit.
He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, Elizabeth (Liz) Burke Humphreys, along with four children: Veronica (Chris Ross), Elizabeth (Lissy) (Christian Thomas), Kate (Jim Hasenauer), and Hugh Jr. (Virginia), eight grandchildren, including: Kristofer, Ava, Elizabeth, Henry, Nancy, Anabel, Charlie and Ben, as well as nephews Tim Humphreys, Aron Liptak, Ian Nicholson, Thomas Burke and nieces, Caitlin Liptak Chang and Anna Burke. Hugh was predeceased by his brother, Chris, and nephews, CJ and Matthew and niece, Tara.
The Humphreys family would like to express a sincere debt of gratitude to the staff at St. John’s Hospital, Yonkers, N.Y., and Calvary Hospital, Bronx, N.Y. Hugh will be laid to rest at the Welsh Church in Nelson, N.Y., where the hymns he so loved will always be near and where his family and friends can join in lifting their voices to his memory. A celebration of his life will be held at the Welsh Church in the spring, details to follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to:
Hon. Hugh C. Humphreys, National Abolition Hall of Fame, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro, NY 13134, nationalabolitionshiphalloffameandmuseum.org; Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York Inc., 120 Bleecker St. Utica, NY 13501, lasmny.org; Chenango SPCA, 6160 Co. Rd. 32 Norwich, NY 13815, [email protected].
