John Moses Hughes III
John Moses Hughes III
John Moses Hughes III, a truck driver who loved to hunt and fish, got along with everybody, said his brother, Alan Hughes. His friends and family called him Jack.
He died unexpectedly on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, in his Florida home. He was 72.
Mr. Hughes was born on Aug. 30, 1945 in Albany, the son of the late John Moses Hughes II and Margaret (née Plume) Hughes. He grew up in Delmar and graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in 1963.
After high school, he joined the Navy, serving from 1964 to 1967. He was stationed first in Bermuda and then in Newfoundland. The hot, humid weather in Bermuda gave him athlete’s foot “so they solved that,” said Alan Hughes of his brother’s new post in colder climes. He was a member of the Naval Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees.
“He drove truck for the Navy and, when he got out, he drove truck for National Molasses and then he worked for the post office,” said his brother.
“Him and a lot of his friends built a log cabin. He loved hunting and fishing. And he was a big NASCAR fan,” said his brother. Jack Hughes eventually settled in Florida, near Daytona.
Alan Hughes concluded of his brother, “He had a good sense of humor. He got along with everybody. He had a lot of friends.”
Those friends are invited to a memorial service on Sunday, June 24, from noon till 4 p.m. at the New Scotland town park in Feura Bush. “It’s BYOB and chairs,” said Alan Hughes. “We had a service in Florida and, when the weather got nice, we wanted to have one here.”
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John Moses Hughes III is survived by his wife of 35 years, Joyce (Smith) Hughes; his children, Laura McDonald and her husband, Elmer, Ronald Hughes and his wife, Dawn, Timothy Hughes and his wife, Val, and Doug Youmans and his wife, Nellie; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by three brothers, Alan Hughes and his wife, Lucille, Jim Hughes and his wife, Bonnie, and Tom Hughes and his wife, Millie; by one sister, Carol Hughes and her husband, Luc; and several nieces and nephews.
— Melissa Hale-Spencer
