Francis Hughes

Francis R. (Fran) Hughes, 87, passed away January 3, 2013, at Parkside Manor in Columbia, Missouri.

Fran was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on September 15, 1925, the fourth of five children of George Emmett and Catherine Erie Hughes.

Fran married Sue Lefforge August 22, 1950. She survives of the home. They had lived in Overland Park, Kansas, then St. Joseph, Missouri. Fran retired in 1988 after 21 years in St. Joseph and for the next five years he and Sue were full time RVers. In 1994 they moved to Lake of the Ozarks and were there for 16 years prior to settling in Columbia.

Fran graduated from Argentine High School in 1943. He served his country in the Army Air Corps from 1943 until 1946. He then graduated from Kansas City Kansas Junior College and spent the next two years at the University of Kansas. He worked at Campbell Engineering in Merriam, Kansas, for18 years, then McNeill Marker Co. in St. Joseph until he retired. He loved to work with wood and could fix anything. He also enjoyed bowling and playing cards with friends.

Besides his wife of 62 years Fran is survived by two sons and a daughter, Michael Hughes and Kathy, Marilyn Sommers and Tom, and Mark Hughes and Laurie, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters-in law, Betty Hughes of Centennial, Colorado, and Joan Hughes of Overland Park, Kansas, and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death were his parents, his brothers George E. Hughes Jr., and Richard Hughes, sisters Margaret Spellman and Clay, Kitty Fredericks and Clifford, and grandson Forrest Sorrells.

Fran's great sense of humor and love of his family will be sadly missed.

A visitation will be from 11:00-11:30 a.m., Monday, January 14, 2013, with a memorial service starting at 11:30 a.m., at the Amos Family Funeral Home. Inurnment will follow at Leavenworth National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Alzheimer's Association or the Central Missouri Honor Flight.