Hughie “Hugh” Jerome McInnish II, 88, passed away Saturday, August 20. He was born in Union Springs, Alabama in 1934 to his namesake, Hughie Jerome McInnish I, and his adoring and beloved mother, Kate Elizabeth Crook McInnish.
Hugh was a life-long lover of learning—he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama in 1956, and his master’s degree from UAH in Mathematics nearly two decades later. While a student at Alabama he served as the Commander of the Theta Chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. He served in the US Air Force as a pilot. He worked for SMDC for thirty years and continued after retirement working for local defense contractors. He ran for US Congress in 1994 and served as Chairman of the Madison County Executive Committee. Hugh lived the lives of ten men— he was an American Patriot, he volunteered to go to Vietnam to train soldiers on the use of the TOW Missile System, he wrote two books, went skydiving, and the Beaujolais parties he hosted into his 80s were an annual spectacle, but to his family, he was Pops.
Pops is survived by his wife of 42 years, Martha Casey McInnish; his children, Beth Booth (Doug) and Hughie Jerome McInnish III (Natalia); his stepdaughters, Audra Kennedy (Kevin) and Karla Montgomery (John); his grandchildren, Allison Booth Cain (Kyle), John Wilson Booth (Paige), Jackson Kennedy, Jillian Kennedy, Maria McInnish, and Hughie Jerome “Mac” McInnish IV; his sister-in-law, Dr. Gaye McInnish; and his brothers-in-law, Jim Casey (Margaret) and Earnest Casey (Nancy), who was an appreciated companion to Hugh at the end. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, John Crook McInnish.
Visitation will be Thursday, August 25 from 10 to 11 a.m. at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, with funeral service at 11:00 with Earl Freeman and Mac Buttram officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Maple Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 12901 Bailey Cove Rd., Huntsville, AL 35803.
