Clintine Kirby Hughes

She was born on October 5, 1922, in Clinton, Illinois, the first child of Verna Caywood Kirby (from Virginia, Illinois) and Clinton James Kirby (from near Beardstown, Illinois). She grew up in the Roseville area and graduated in 1940 from Roseville High School. She was attending Western Illinois State Teachers College in 1940 when she met Marion Leland Hughes (from Lewistown, Illinois). They were married in Lewistown on June 22, 1941.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had five children: Silvia Sue in 1944; David Leland in 1947; Pamela Clintine in 1953; Deborah Jean in 1959; and Diana Marie in 1961.

Mrs. Hughes stayed in western Illinois until the end of World War II, when she and Mr. Hughes moved to Chicago, with a brief sojourn in Benton Harbor, Michigan, while Mr. Hughes began his career as a certified public accountant. From 1952 to 1957 they lived in Riverdale, Illinois, where Mrs. Hughes was a reporter for The Pointer, the local newspaper, as well as a Girl Scout leader and Den Mother.

In 1957, the Hughes family moved to the New York area. Residing in suburban Closter, New Jersey, Mrs. Hughes again, in addition to managing her growing family, was a reporter for the local Bergen Review, covering town issues and writing the town news column, "Closter Close-ups." Her honest reporting certainly kept the town’s officials on their toes.

In 1970, the Hughes family returned "home" to Illinois, residing at 1420 Noble Avenue in Springfield from 1970 until 2008. Mr. Hughes began a long career with the State that extended from 1970 to 1995. Mrs. Hughes also enjoyed a full career late in life, working as a reader for the Illinois Press Association in Springfield from 1978 to 1998, where her job was to read every newspaper published in the State. She also created the IPA Pie, a newspaper-style newsletter most fitting for IPA, the representative of Illinois’ newspapers.

Clintine was a favorite customer of Springfield merchants and restaurant owners and was well known around town. She was an avid crossword solver, working dozens of puzzles each week. In her later years, she traveled to Great Britain and went sailing in the Caribbean.

Mrs. Hughes spent her last years in Grand Rapids, Michigan (2008-2010) and Cleveland, Ohio (2010-2011). She was active almost to the end, attending her grand-daughter Amy’s graduation in May and going out for dinner with her children until very recently.

Clintine is preceded in death by her husband Marion, who passed away in 1998 in Springfield. She will rejoin him, almost exactly 70 years after their marriage, when she is interred next to him in Oak Ridge Cemetery, not far from Lincoln’s tomb.

Mrs. Hughes is survived by her sister, Emalee Payne of Springfield; her five children and their spouses (Silvia and Don Gill of Grand Rapids, Michigan; David and Mary Hughes, of Annandale, Virginia; Pam and Joe Powell of Bloomington, Illinois; Debbie and Mike Boguszewski of Roseville, Minnesota; and Diana and Glen Horvat of North Royalton, Ohio); 13 grandchildren (Don Gill, Becky Huffman, Greg Gill, Laura Hughes, Julia Hughes, Rachel DeVore, Alison Allen, Amanda Powell, Tom Boguszewski, Anna Boguszewski, Amy Horvat, Ben Horvat, and Brian Horvat), and 9

great-grandchildren (Audrey Gill, Andrew Gill, Nicholas Huffman, Abigail Huffman, Amelia Huffman, Matthew Gill, Avery Hawkins, Jack DeVore, and Delia Allen).

Visitation will be held Wednesday, June 29, 2011 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Boardman-Smith Funeral Chapel. A funeral service will be held at the funeral chapel Thursday, June 30 at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

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