Bobby Vernon Hughes

Bobby V. Hughes, longtime Tulsa area resident, died peacefully and surrounded by family on Jan. 6 at St. John Hospital after a lengthy battle with Wegener’s Disease. He was 79.

A native of Chelsea, he started a career in the newspaper business, working at the weekly Chelsea Reporter while still in high school. After graduation from Chelsea High School he joined the U. S. Army on July 1, 1957 and served his country that included posts in Germany and United States.

After his honorable discharge from the service, he married Beverly Keener, of Vinita, on May 5, 1962 and together they celebrated 54-years of marriage.

He continued working in the newspaper industry in the production department of the Broken Arrow Ledger and in 1962 was hired by the Tulsa World/Tribune as a teletype operator. He later joined Oil & Gas Journal as a typesetter and proofreader and as an assistant systems manager in the electronic pre-press department at Pennwell Publishing. During his near 45-year career, he worked through all three major production revolutions of the printing industry, mastering letterpress, offset and computer graphics/ typesetting.
In later years, he founded Greg’s Greens, a direct from grower to florist business that served floral shops in Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma.

After retirement, Mr. Hughes moved to Oologah where he lived on Lake Oologah and enjoyed year-round crappie fishing. He fished almost daily and proudly shared his catch with family and friends at many backyard fish fries. There were also memorable fishing trips for halibut and sockeye salmon on the Kenai Peninsula and Juneau, Alaska; red bass at Mosquito Lagoon, Oak Hill, FL; snook in Boca Grande, FL; and largemouth bass on lakes Crescent and George in Florida. His largest bass catch weighed nine pounds. He also played golf and enjoyed frequent poker outings with friends.

In 2011 he was diagnosed with Wegener’s Disease, an autoimmune attack that causes rare inflammation of the blood vessels and many organs. The disease damaged his kidneys and ultimately rendered them ineffective. He continued a normal life during home-based dialysis for five years and continued to pursue his primary hobby of fishing while the Wegener’s Disease was in remission.

He is survived by his wife Beverly; daughter Rhonda both of Oologah, OK and son Greg and wife Wendy, Stillwater, OK; two brothers Kenneth and wife Pauline Hughes of Knoxville, TN., and Ronnie and wife Martha Hughes, St. Augustine, FL; sister Mildred Estes, Enid, OK; step-sister Laquita Huls and husband Jim, Chelsea, OK; and two grandchildren Sage and husband Wyatt Glasgow and Sienna and fiancé Eric Malone, Stillwater, OK. He was predeceased by his father L. C. Hughes and mother Evelyn Parker Hughes Harrell; infant brother, Darrell and brother-in-law Don Estes and many nieces and nephews.

The family will welcome friends at a Visitation on Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Musgrove Merriott Smith Funeral Home, 102 W. 5th Street, Claremore, OK. Interment will be in Chelsea Cemetery in the family plot. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Vasculitis Foundation via their website at https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/donate/ways-to-give/