Robert K. Hughes

On the afternoon of April 23, 2022, just shy of celebrating 86 glorious years on this earth, the Lord with a little nudge from our mother, called our father home to his eternal resting place. A place he deeply believed that he would be reunited with our mother in eternal happiness.

Robert Krepps Hughes was born to Katherine “Kitty” Krepps Hughes and Robert Fenlon Hughes on May 30th ,1936 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He spent his formative years in Western Pennsylvania attending school and graduating with honors from St. Fidelis Seminary, where he was studying for the priesthood. It was there that his core values of hard work, love of family and his love for the Lord took hold and guided him for the remainder of his life.

Bob, as he was affectionately known, after some serious soul searching, decided against the priesthood, and instead chose to pursue a career in law at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. He was satisfying prerequisite coursework prior to entering Duquesne University, at California State College, in California, PA, when he laid eyes on the love of his life, Mitzi Scrip, a genuine beauty who was working as the secretary for the Dean of Admissions at California State College. It was Mitzi, as the story goes, who boldly asked him out on their first date. Bob and Mitzi were married on August 31st at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Roscoe, PA. After they were married, Bob and Mitzi moved to a small apartment in Pittsburgh so that our father could be closer to Duquesne University. Dad attended Duquesne University on an academic scholarship that was sponsored by two sisters who lived in Sewickley, PA. They agreed to sponsor my father as long as he earned straight A’s. Which of course he did. Bob attended classes during the day, and drove a beer truck at night delivering beer to customers all throughout the city of Pittsburgh. He turned his pay from driving the beer truck over to our mom and lived off of his tips.

Our father has often said that the Holy Spirit has intervened at key times throughout his life. While finishing up his studies at Duquesne, Bob was approached by a gentlemen, Don Blasch, who encouraged our father to investigate and receive training in a program offered at Western Michigan University, Orientation and Mobility. Upon graduating from Duquesne University in June of 1961 with honors, our father with our mothers blessing, enrolled at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo Michigan. Bob graduated with honors from Western Michigan University in January of 1968 with a Master of Science degree specializing in Orientation and Mobility. Our father’s first job was with the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind. After several years of fulfilling work at the Guild, aimed primarily at teaching newly blinded veteran’s cane travel techniques, our Dad shifted gears slightly and went to work as an Associate Administrator for the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland, PA. While there, our father developed many programs, such as an Activities of Daily Living program, a program for multiply handicapped children and a program for children who were both deaf and blind. He championed the concept of a multidisciplinary team approach to working with blind children and assembled a wonderful staff of occupational therapists, physical therapists, child psychiatrists, pediatricians, and ophthalmologists.

Bob spent 12 years at the School for Blind Children, when he and his wife and their three children, weary of the harsh Pennsylvania winters, relocated to the beautiful state of North Carolina, where he went to work for the Division of Services for the Blind. Our Father loved his job as an itinerant O&M specialist. He felt so privileged to be able to travel throughout 23 different counties in North Carolina serving the unique needs of the Blind person, young and old. He retired from the Division of Services in August of 2006, after serving for 30 years. With his career not over quite yet, Bob contracted his O&M services to the Shelby School District in Shelby, North Carolina until he officially retired.

Our father received numerous awards throughout his illustrious career. He was given the Western Pennsylvania Optometric Society Award in 1977 for his “Dedication and Distinguished service on behalf of the Visual Welfare of the Public”; He received the Rachel Rawls Award in 2002 for “his work on behalf of the Blind and Visually Impaired in North Carolina". In March of 2007 our Father received an Appreciation of Service Award for “27 years of love, guidance and dedication from the students and staff of the Noel Program at Gardner Webb University”. But none of the awards and honors were more meaningful to him than the Old North State Award given to him by Governor Mike Easley in July of 2006 for our Father's dedication and service beyond expectation and excellence to the Great State of North Carolina on behalf of all of its citizens. Our Father would often say regarding this special award, “Isn’t it something that they bestowed it upon a Yankee!"

Apart from his career that brought him incredible joy and satisfaction, our father found tremendous love and spiritual inspiration at his “second” home, St. Peters Catholic Church in Charlotte, where he was a member until his death. He was honored to serve as Eucharistic minister, and recently as Father Tim’s Sacristan for Friday afternoon mass, until his health would no longer permit. Dad marveled at the arduous preparation the Jesuit priests undertook to become ordained as a member of this order, but more importantly the tremendous good the Jesuit order has done and continues to do around the world.

Our Father loved all things North Carolina, the weather, the vibrant city of Charlotte, the Tarheels, jazz music, history, and World War I and II documentaries. He loved receiving calls or correspondence from his former students, but especially calls from his dear brother-in-law, Herb Scrip, who kept him up to date on all of the “Pennsylvania happenings”. Our dad loved to read and was in fact extremely well read, and almost satisfied his doctoral degree in English Literature at Carnegie Mellon University.

Dad was immensely proud of his two grandsons, Cameron and Joshua Chapman, who will be graduating from college soon. He loved to live vicariously through their journeys and exploits. Dad was a hands-on grandfather who attended their sporting events, took them on secret missions or to paint-ball outings, to name a few cherished experiences throughout their childhood. He had hoped to live long enough to report back to my mom about the next amazing chapters in their lives, but the Lord had a different plan in mind.

He was so proud of his son, Robert John, who he liked to say was a mountain of a man, a guy so big he was hard to hug, but who was all muscle. Dad marveled at what a wonderful cook our brother had become and was so touched when Rob would bring a homemade dinner over to him to enjoy. Dad got a kick out of how much Rob could eat without gaining any weight, and would say Rob is so much like your Grandad Scrip. Dad was thrilled that Rob found love with his wife, Abby and together they found their spiritual home. As a valued member of Atrium Health and now the Sanger Clinic, Abby was so instrumental in facilitating mom and dad’s admission and comfort during their respective hospital stays. Abby would often visit my parents on her lunch hour checking in with them to see that they had what they needed. We are so grateful to Abby for her thoughtful attention to Mom and Dad while they were in the hospital.

Dad felt he had two angels in his life, his daughters, Paula and Monica. His Angel Paula, who he lovingly called his manager, would accompany him to his numerous doctors visits and was an expert extra set of eyes and ears for Dad to help him navigate his ongoing health issues. Paula kept our Dad fed with her delicious cooking and supplied him with essentials. She was always just a quick car trip or phone call away, and visited with Dad regularly. She brought our Dad immeasurable comfort and joy. Dad would exclaim she is such an amazing and good mother to her boys, she is the light of my life and is always so positive and upbeat even in the face of adversity. He was eternally grateful to our sister for the love and care she gave to our mother. He felt he couldn’t thank Paula enough for all that she did for them both.

He was proud of his daughter, Monica and would often say that she was helping to do the Lord’s work as an Occupational Therapist working with special needs children. When she was “home” from California for a visit, he would enjoy attending mass with her at St. Peters and would follow mass with a drive around uptown Charlotte, showing her all of the new growth and development. The tour would be capped with a dinner at Park 51 and an enjoyable evening watching classic movies or a musical concert. Dad and Mon would reminisce, and it was during these visits that the bond she had with her Dad and the love and appreciation she felt for him grew stronger. Her love for him is and will always be abiding.

Our Dad would often express that he thanked the good Lord above that his daughters married such wonderful men. Knowing how important a Father is in his child’s life, Dad was overjoyed that his son-in-law Brian was such a wonderful, devoted father who has always been present and involved in his son’s lives. Dad would say, what an amazing role model and mentor his grandsons will have in their Dad, as they follow in his career path as a successful businessman, with the goal of one day taking over their Dad’s business. Dad marveled at Monica’s husband Leigh’s capabilities as a senior project engineer specializing in aerospace and aviation hydraulics. Dad would often say Leigh has such a remarkable brain, the perfect temperament and skill set for designing landing gear actuation systems, troubleshooting and determining why a particular component isn’t working and more importantly how to fix it.

Mostly, our father loved our mother and would tell us, the best thing I did for you guys was to give you a wonderful mother. Dad missed our mother, who passed away almost two years ago, but our family takes solace in knowing they are now reunited.

Dad was preceded in death by his loving wife, Mitzi; her mother and father, Margaret and John Scrip; his brother-in-law, John Scrip and sister-in-law, Patricia Bandini; and his younger brother, Paul and sister, Evelyn.

Dad is survived by his three children and their spouses, Monica and Leigh Gilbertsen of Corona California, Bob and Abby Hughes of Charlotte, North Carolina and Paula and Brian Chapman and their sons, Cameron John and Joshua Hughes Chapman, all of Charlotte; and his favorite brother and sister-in-law, Herb and Joann Scrip, whose visits to Charlotte meant so much to our Dad.

The family wishes to send a heartfelt thanks to Dr. Bowen, Dr. Owen and Dr. Ford who together helped to mend our Dad so that we could have more time with him on this earth.

Our family wishes to thank and send our utmost appreciation to Elaine Moraes, who was our mother's caregiver and later, who extended her kind and compassionate care to our father.

Our family wishes to thank Fr. Jim Shay,S.J., Fr. Tim Stephens, S.J. Pastor St. Peters, Fr. John Michalowski, S.J., Deacon Jim Bozik, Ms. Rebekah Thompson, and all of the dear friends at St. Peters who were so kind to our dad, especially when our mother passed.

Our family wishes to thank Dad’s dear neighbor, Ms. Kathy Carver who checked in on our Dad and always shared kind words of encouragement that meant so much to him.

We are so grateful to our Father for his love, his wisdom, his guidance and the way that he lived his life. He is an example to us all. Our Father has entered his final resting place and we believe as his children, that the Lord would say “ With you, I am well pleased.”

Private inurnment and a mass of celebration of our Dad’s amazing life will be held at a later date.

On-line condolences can be expressed by going to McEwen Funeral Home in Pineville at. www.mcewenpinevillechapel.com.