I remember Uncle Hughie coming to our house to visit and he taught me how to play chess. Uncle Hughie always had a smile on his face when I saw him. He was a great person and one of the most kind people I know. My thoughts and prayers are sent out to everyone who knew him.

I have many fond memories of my brother Hughie As a kid Hughie was always around but being 7 years older and 2 girls between us I don’t recall much banter between us though he was always very kind to me. My first vivid recollection of Hughie was hopping around the house with one foot in a cast due pitch fork accident in my Aunt Jean’s backyard.

As a teenage I saw and was told by my friends how good he was at stick ball, bowling, pool and of course darts. He also had another set of friends where he went to Empire Boulevard roller ring where he skate danced all night with the girls.

When Hughie came back from the army, I used to hear him listening to Joan Baez night after night. I would wonder how much he was reminiscing about Germany. I know he had wanted to get discharged there so he could travel around Europe but it didn’t work out.

Of course, there were changes around the house then. He moved up a notch and was awarded the back room next to the kitchen which would have given him more privacy but he was forced to share it with the refrigerator which was raided by everyone in the middle of the night. At this point in my life, we began to know some of the same people. Though his friends were a bit older we went to some of the same neighborhood club parties where he quickly took the role of big brother. I loved the way he advised and worried about me.

My favorite memories of Hughie were mostly at my daughter’s house in Jersey. He would come on the weekends always with a bag of little presents for the kids, items that he received from his charities. He enjoyed teaching CJ chess which Hughie was very big on. He was also very good with Georgie’s kids. I was so happy when he came down to visit me in Florida, He would get up every morning early to watch me play tennis and of course give advice.

I couldn’t end this talk about my brother without describing how his face would light up when he talked about his kids, and he always talked about them. He bragged about his kids, about their accomplishment and how close they were to one another. And he was so excited to be a grandfather. He always let it be known how good Sue was and how he cared for her. 

Though Hughie is gone, He will always be in my memories and in my heart.

So many fun family memories growing up with Uncle Hugh. He always made root beer floats for me when I was a kid. 
May his memory always bring you comfort and peace. Thinking of you all. 

My brother Hughie was one of the most generous, thoughtful people I’ve known. Whether money was tight or flush he always sent beautiful holiday cards with a check enclosed to buy gifts for our kids and grandkids. If there was a storm in our area, we could always count on a call from Hughie to make sure we were all OK, and he always spoke of his kids, as well as all our family, with glowing pride and excitement on their achievements. He loved speaking with our grandkids and of course with Eli about the latest in sports and the awards Eli‘s athletes had achieved in track.

As bright and kind as Hughie was, there was another, mischievous, side to him. Many of my fondest memories were of the antics we pulled as kids, with Hughie being the ringleader. My parents would often visit our granny, just two blocks away, taking the baby (Helen or Irene at the time) and leaving our next-door neighbor Mrs. Geraghty to look in on us. After Mrs. Geraghty put us to bed and locked the door, the apartment would come alive. We played follow the leader- Hughie of course - jumping from beds to dressers, the goal being to traverse three rooms without touching the floor. At other times it was Gymnastics, usually ending with someone going headfirst into the bed board. Since I was the youngest at most of these nighttime adventures with only three years between Hughie, Joan and myself, they often set up monster shows. Hughie would enter our bedroom covered in a white sheet with Joan screaming narratives to scare me. The episodes were sometimes so frightening that all three of us wound up sleeping together.

Needless to say, with the landlord living in the apartment below, banging on the risers for us to quiet down, and Hughie sometimes banging back, we later paid the price; but it was worth it.

Probably one of the proudest and most loving memories I have of Hughie was when he was in the army. He was stationed in boot camp around the holidays during my first year of teaching. Worried because I knew there was a serious flu going around the camp, I had my second graders- all 64 of them - send drawings and letters to him. They were funny and adorable. Hughie made it home for a Christmas furlough and decked out in uniform came to visit my class bringing cookies and ice cream for all. He told them that he had gotten the flu himself but knew that if he went to the infirmary, he wouldn’t be allowed home for Christmas. He said it was reading & rereading all their funny, kind notes that got him through those rough days so he could come home for the holidays. I’m sure each of the children will always remember the impact their kindness had, and I’ll always remember Hughie’s appreciation and love.

I often think of the time difference in Colorado, with the intention of calling, only to remember Hughie‘s not there. I still can’t believe he’s gone, but of course, he’s not.

Hughie is in all the funny and sweet memories we have of him and I always picture him smiling and laughing with some humorous remark.

Love and cheers to Hughie, a beloved brother and a great guy!

One of my earliest memories of Hughie was when I was around three years old. My mom had bought a new dress for me, and Hughie had just come home from school. He realized how I excited I was to show him the dress and insisted I turn around several times while he admired it. He then told me over and over how pretty I looked. Silly, but it’s the little things in life that mean so much to a person. I am sure he had long forgotten that day, but I remember it as though it happened yesterday.
When he was a little older, I would see him coming home from work, and I would run down Lincoln Place to greet him. He’d pick me up and swing me around until I was dizzy. I’d beg him to put me down. When I could finally stand I’d say, one more swing, Hughie, please!
I was around nine years old when I learned that soon he would be leaving home to join the army. For several months before that, he would wake me up on a Saturday morning to play monopoly. Of course, he would never let me win. How would I learn? However, when I was losing, he would lend me play money just to keep the game going. (Slow torture, and I can still hear his sinister chuckle as I kept losing.) I appreciated the time he spent with me before leaving for two years which seemed like an eternity. As I said, it’s the little things.
Hughie was a very generous person. He never forgot to send a birthday or Christmas card, always with a little gift enclosed. I later wondered how he was able to afford this while living on army pay of $78 a month.
After moving to New Jersey, Tom and I spent many a weekend with Hughie having dinner at our house and then heading out to a movie. He spent many holidays with us and summer days by the pool.
Hughie was very smart and very methodical with a broad array of interests and knowledgeable on many subjects. Also, he was a very social person who enjoyed a good party and a Lindy Hop.
He loved music and played the accordion. When instruments weren’t available, he played the spoons on his lap while sitting at the kitchen table!
He loved sports and excelled in all of them be it softball, billiards, bowling, darts, etc. He loved seeing his friends from the “9th Ward” and St. Teresa’s where he and our family would attend the annual alumni party and, at times, the summer picnic. And, did I forget, Brooklyn Tech and AT&T?
Of course, he loved everything Scottish and Irish, especially the good jokes. When we were kids our family would go on bus rides to the Scottish games. In later years he would insist Tom and I go with him to the games in New Jersey.
Most of all, Hughie loved his family--all of us, and he would forever sing the praises of Susan, and his children Karen, Matt and Amy and brag of their wonderful accomplishments. He was so proud of them!
Though it was painful for me to see him move from New Jersey, I am so happy that he was able to spend his last years with his children, grandchildren and Susan. I am also grateful to God that his entire family was able to say their last goodbyes to him in Arvada.
While I realize that no one is perfect, he was perfect to me; he was perfect to me solely because he was my BIG brother and my friend, and I will love and miss him forever.


To quote an Irish epitaph:
“Those we love don’t go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.”

GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU, HUGHIE, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN.
Your loving sister,
Irene

I will always remember Hugh cheering us on on the sidelines of every track meet and soccer game, decked out in his Giants gear of course!! He was even one of my coaches early on!! He always made us smile and I could always count on him being in the stands, especially since my parents often couldn’t make it from work in time.

Thinking of your family