Lois Marie Hinton Hughes

Lois Marie Hinton Hughes of Richardson, formerly of White Deer, passed away Friday, February 8, 2019 in Richardson, where she had lived since 2005. She had moved there after the death of her husband, Harry Hughes, who passed away in 2001. Services will be at 10:00 AM, Friday, February 15, 2019, in the First United Methodist Church of White Deer, with Rev. Robert Burke, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in White Deer Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors. Mrs. Hughes was born in Sylvester, TX in 1916 and moved to Magdalena, NM just four years after statehood. Her mother, father, two brothers and two sisters moved to Floydada, TX in 1939. She had many fond memories of a rough frontier life. When they moved to Floyd County, she had to finish high school in McLean, TX because there was no senior class in the rural school near their farm. After graduating from high school, she attended business college and worked for the Works Progress Administration at the Lake McClellan dam site in Gray County. In 1941, she married Harry Hughes. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the air corps in north Africa until end of the war. The Hughes family and their fellow White Deer residents had their strength tested when the tornado of 1952 demolished a large swath of the town, including their home. Like their neighbors, they rebuilt and sank their roots in the town even deeper. Until Mrs. Hughes moved to Richardson, she was an active booster of everything in White Deer, including her quarter century as school superintendent secretary, her devotion to the United Methodist Church, and her involvement with the senior citizens center. Lois was known in White Deer for her unflappable nature, her tenacity at “getting the job done” and her enduring smile and cheery disposition. Her friends from across the country crowded the White Deer Facebook page congratulating and remembering her affectionately as she celebrated her 103rd birthday, just 20 days before she rejoined her beloved Harry in their heavenly home. In her Richardson home, as long as she was able, she “neighbored” with those who lived nearby. Even in decline, she continued to school her caregivers in the finer points of dominoes and thousand-piece puzzles. Her faithful caregivers earned a special place in family’s hearts for their devotion to their mother. She was preceded in death by her sister, Maudel, and her brothers, Henry and William, and their wives. Mrs. Hughes is survived by her son, Wayne Hughes and wife Linda of Amarillo; two daughters, Susie Powell and husband Mike of Dallas and Jean Hughes of Richardson. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Marilyn and Ben Powell and Kris Hughes and his wife Julie and four great-grandchildren, Harry, Sylvia, Ari and Julia. She is also survived by her sister, Christine Lyles of Hale Center. Mrs. Hughes would be delighted to see gifts made to the White Deer Senior Citizens Center, PO Box 744, White Deer, Texas  79097; or First United Methodist Church of White Deer, PO Box 835, White Deer, Texas  79097, in her memory. The family will receive friends from 6:30-7:30 PM Thursday, February 114, 2019, at Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors in Pampa.