Local leader to be remembered

Murphy – “Mom would cut a cantaloupe in half and fill each side with Jello. It had to be strawberry or cherry. Then she’d cover it in Saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator. When it set, one would be for me and one for my sister, Linda.”

Lisa Brown is discussing her mother, former Murphy council member Barbara Hughes, 81, who has retired to be with her husband, former Mayor Bill Hughes.

“We ate every evening meal together. Mom and dad both worked, but my mom would come home and cook supper. I think that was really important, that we would have supper at home together. We talked about everything under the sun,” Brown said, her Southern voice soft in the remembrance.

The family played as hard as they worked.

“My dad bought a raffle ticket from the high school Booster Club and won a pop-up camper. I was 5 or 6,” Brown said.

“We would take the camper to Hanging Dog Campground with my Uncle Gordon and Aunt Mary. We would all cram into our VW bus.”

She added that nobody had better crunch ice or pop gum around her mom.

“You do not do that,” Brown said. “You would get ‘the look.’ ”

When Brown started school, her mother went to work for the school system. Hughes became the first special needs teacher in Cherokee County, so renowned that Western Carolina University would send teachers to her classroom to learn from her.

“What she did was groundbreaking,” Brown proudly said of her mother, her achievements even more remarkable considering she never graduated from college. “She was one year shy of graduating.”

However, what Hughes lacked in education, she made up for with ambition, and she manifested that ambition through service. She worked for 32 years in the school system before her real work began.

For 11 years, Hughes was voted Best Volunteer in Cherokee County in the Cherokee Scout’s annual Readers’ Choice contest. It didn’t seem to matter what type of project needed her tenacious attention, Hughes would jump in and serve.

“She has worn many hats in the community,” Brown said. “Anything that needed to be done, she would pull a team together and get it done.”

Hughes’ list of achievements is robust. She helped raise $1.2 million for the American Cancer Society as Relay for Life co-chair, and also served for years as a Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce ambassador. She worked for 15 years as president of HouseRaising Volunteers and helped start Family Resources.

Hughes once ran the Andrews Christmas parade, originated a homebound program for pregnant students and helped bring soccer to Cherokee County. She founded Heritage Partners of Cherokee County, which included her passion project, the Murphy River Walk. After her husband retired as mayor, she successfully ran for town council – twice – and also headed the Special Olympics program in western North Carolina.

Brown believes her mother’s devotion to service stemmed from her childhood. She was the middle child of five siblings who grew up in a no-nonsense Murphy household.

“Her father, Snyder Jones, owned the Phillips 66 on Highway 64,” Brown said. “Their home was back behind it and, as the kids got old enough, they were expected to work in the store.”

Hughes passed that tradition down to her daughter. Brown added with a laugh, “That’s where I learned how to check tires and oil and pump gas. All before middle school!”

“My parents didn’t grow up rich,” Brown said. “They grew up in some difficult times; there were many people in need. Her heart has always been drawn to help the most helpless. Once they were in the position to help, they were spurred to action.”

Hughes’ genius lies in her ability to evolve ideas into solid plans through her pragmatism and what Brown calls “her crazy sense of humor.” She was a gifted team builder and would often choose a community member to mentor, essentially training her replacement.

“Mom will figure out a way to get things done,” Brown said. “She’s always been a self-starter.”

Hughes still finds ways to participate in her beloved community.

“Until recently,” Brown said, “she was baking bread to use as communion at church.”

Brown tries to encourage her mother to slow down.

“I tell her, there are other people capable and willing to step into other roles you’ve held,” she said, but that’s the legacy Hughes fostered during decades as a community leader.

“She would want to encourage people to look for what needs to be done, and then stop and think about how that might be approached,” Brown added.

Today, Hughes spends time in her garden, where she and her husband enjoy their soon-to-be six great-granddaughters.