Joseph E Hughes Sr.

Joseph (Joe) E. Hughes, Sr., age 89, of Haverhill, Fl, died in his home on Tuesday, August 16, 2016. He was born in York, Pa. to William "Roy" Hughes and Margaret Gleason-Hughes. He served in the U.S, Navy near the end of WWII in late 1944 and received an honorable discharge. He also served his country as a Civilian Engineering Designer at Whellus Air Force Base, Tripoli, Libya from 1950 to 1952 and at Guantanamo Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from 1952 to 1956. It was there in Cuba where he met his wife of 63 years, Raquel Perez Hughes.

He was hired while still in Cuba to come to the City of West Palm Beach, Fl to serve as the Chief Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator. He was subsequently promoted to the position of Director of Building and Zoning (Building Official, Zoning Administrator and Chief Codes Administrator). His proudest achievements include instigating and enforcing a vigorous neighborhood rehabilitation program in which he was responsible for 11,000 families obtaining standard housing for the first time. He also wrote many of the Building Codes in the area and adopted by the Southern Building Code Congress, which included some of Florida's first handicap codes (1964, 10 years before State and Federal Codes), the first safety glass requirements (eventually adopted by the SBCCI), swimming pool safety codes, fire sprinkler codes for high rise buildings, as well as West Palm Beach's first (Florida's first) hurricane building codes (late 1950's) using many of the same methods required by today's Florida Building Code.

He retired from service to the City of West Palm Beach after 28 years in 1984. Not content to retire completely, he formed Joe Hughes & Associates, Inc., a building construction, consulting and inspection business which he maintained for 10 years after which he served as Building Official in South Palm Beach, Haverhill, Glen Ridge, Mangonia Park, Cloud Lake and the City of Atlantis until his eventual retirement. He was a past President of the Building Official's Association of Florida as well as a founder of the Building Official's Association of Palm Beach County as a State Certified Building Official. He attended Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church and was a member of the West Palm Beach Knights of Columbus, Council No. 2075.

He is preceded in death by his daughter, Katherine, brother, Richard, his mother and father, Margaret and Roy, all of West Palm Beach and sister, Elizabeth Ward of York, Pa. His surviving family include his wife, Raquel, son, Joseph, Jr., grandchildren, Melissa and Jennifer and great grandson, Nathaniel, as well as brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Mike and Martha Perez.

The visitation and Rosary Service will be held at Quattlebaum Funeral Home, 5411 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, Fl, on Thursday, August 25, 2016, from 4:30pm until 7:30pm, with a prayer service at 7:00pm. The Funeral Mass, will be held on Friday, August 26, 2016, at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, 345 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, Fl, at 10:00am followed by internment at 11:45am at Royal Palm Memorial Gardens, 5601 Greenwood Avenue, West Palm Beach, Fl.