Andrew John “Jack” Hughes, M.D., 89, of Auburn went home to heaven peacefully on April 1, 2016, after an extended illness. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, April 7, 2016, at 11 a.m. at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Auburn followed by interment in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, April 6, from 5-7 p.m. at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home in Opelika.
Jack was born in Cullman on Oct. 27, 1926, and his family moved to Decatur when he was two years old. While in junior high school, Jack saw the “new girl in town” as she was out riding her bicycle and he immediately fell in love. He and Maggie were subsequently married for 68 years before she preceded him in death last October. Jack served in the U.S. Navy during the later years of World War II. After graduating from Auburn University, he worked for the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) before entering medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. After graduation, he practiced as a family physician in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Fort Myers, Florida, before beginning a long and happy practice at Community Hospital in Tallassee until his retirement at age 70. After retiring from Community Hospital, he acted as the medical director for Southern Care Hospice until August, 2015.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Joseph Walter and Willie Pearl Morgan Hughes; his older brother, Joseph Walter Hughes, Jr.; his sister, Sister Mary Donna Hughes; and his beloved wife, Martha Ann Gregg (Maggie) Hughes. He is survived by his sister, Ann Hughes (Rodney) Barron of Decatur; sisters-in-law, Eleanor Gregg (Tom) Barbee of Louisville, Kentucky and Carolyn Gregg (Bob) Place of Evergreen, Colorado; brother-in-law, Ewell K. “Buddy” (Carol) Gregg of Decatur; children, Andrew John Hughes, Jr. of Fort Myers, Florida, Michael Gregg Hughes of San Francisco, California, Christopher Joseph (Kathy) Hughes and Mary Leigh “Molly” (Carl Hollopeter) Hughes of Auburn, David Alan (Nicole) Hughes, of Tuscaloosa; grandchildren, Mary Kate Hughes and Ivy Ann Hughes of Auburn, Mary Elizabeth Hughes, Andrew John “Jack” Hughes, Whittaker Beam Hughes, Winston Gregg Hughes, Madison Frazer, Jack Diaz-Drake, Lucy Diaz-Drake, and Nick Diaz-Drake of Tuscaloosa; and a host of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
The members of Jack’s family would like to emphatically and sincerely thank his colleagues from Southern Care Hospice, the members of the Pastoral Care Team at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, and the unwaveringly wonderful team of faithful caregivers who were all so loving and gentle as they ministered to him during his illness.
The family respectfully asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 1100 N. College St., Auburn, AL, 36830, or the Community Hospital Foundation, Tallassee, AL, https://www.chal.org/about/foundation/.
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home is directing. www.jeffcoattrant.com
