Charley William "C.W." Hughes

The year was 1934. Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run. Donald Duck made his debut on television, and Bonnie & Clyde were on the run from the law. It was the height of the Dust Bowl; crops were failing and people were starving.

But…. On February 18, 1934, Charley William “C.W.” Hughes made his debut to the world in Alf, Arkansas. C.W. was the first-born child to Charley Wilson Hughes and Dorothy Mae Hughes. As a young child, through adulthood, C.W. did general farm work, chopped wood, sold vegetables, tended to animals, and attended school.

Life got interesting during C.W.’s early teen years. Newspapers reported that the outlaw, Jesse James, who had recently died, hid his stolen gold in the mountains of Arkansas. C.W. spent many years searching through the wooded hills of eastern Arkansas looking for that gold, … but he never found it.

C.W. spent a lot of time in those wooded hills near his home. One evening, while hunting with his father and uncle, C.W. was holding the lantern when a 250–300-pound razorback hog charged at them. C.W. froze in his tracks while the animal chased C.W.’s father and uncle up a tree. No one was hurt, and because the razorback didn’t like the light of the lantern that C.W. was holding, and because the razorback couldn’t get to C.W.’s father and uncle, it lost interest and ran off into the woods.

C.W. was raised in a godly home and in a small Southern Baptist church in Big Fork, Arkansas; he was raised to live for and love the Lord. C.W. made a decision to give his life to Jesus when he was 15-years-old, and he continued to attend his home church, but now he attended with new life in Christ.

When C.W. graduated from high school in 1953, he started looking for work, but there was not much work available for young men in Arkansas. So, he took a long bus ride to live with his grandmother in California, where he harvested crops for one season. When that ended, he took a bus to Oklahoma City, where his Uncle and Aunt lived, and where he took on short-term jobs until he found a permanent position. One time, he even traveled to Texas to get work during the harvest season. After his trip to Texas, at age 20, C.W. rented a house in southeast Oklahoma City.

In January 1955, at Grand Boulevard Baptist Church, two blocks from his house, C.W. walked into a small Bible study class, where he took Mary’s breath away. When Mary saw him, she was impressed that a young man of his age was in church, and of course, she thought he was very handsome. C.W. was also immediately interested in Mary. They began a beautiful courtship.

Money was scarce and C.W. didn’t have a car when he first met Mary, so their dating was somewhat limited for a while. Even though Mary lived approximately ten miles away in her dad’s house in southwest Oklahoma City, it didn’t stop C.W. from seeing her. For approximately two months, he would walk very fast, every day, except Sundays, those ten miles so they could see each other and spend time together. Even though he had to walk another ten miles back home, C.W. was happy to do so. He was in love!!

In March 1955, C.W. found a permanent job and purchased a car, so they go other places for their dates. They often went to a little restaurant in southwest Oklahoma City to drink soda and listen to the jukebox. One of their dates was going to an amusement park, where there was a Sledge Hammer Bell game, which required the participant to swing a large heavy sledge hammer over his head and bring it down fast and hard to hit a base pad, which when hit with enough force would send a metal ball up several feet to hit a bell. Every time C.W. swung the Sledge Hammer he hit the bell, which made Mary think about how strong he was in spite of his quiet spirit.

Most of the time, while dating, C.W. would just visit Mary at her dad’s house, where Mary would prepare meals for him and her family. One of those days, while trying to help Mary with laundry, C.W. accidently ran Mary's entire hand into the rollers of an old-style ringer washer. Mary’s hand was okay, but C.W. was concerned that he had hurt her; nevertheless, they greatly enjoyed each other’s company. No matter how often they got together, or what they did, C.W. and Mary made sure they were in church every Sunday morning and evening, and every Wednesday evening, worshipping the Lord together.

One afternoon late, after a few months of dating, C.W. was at Mary’s home. Mary was finishing up ironing. Although Mary had folded up the ironing board numerous times, C.W. thought he should help. Well, … he caused Mary’s hand to get caught in the ironing board. C.W. thought this would be a good time to propose marriage. He pulled an engagement ring out of his pocket and asked her to marry him. In spite of her hand hurting a little, Mary immediatley said, “Of course!” and C.W. put the engagement ring on her finger.

C.W. and Mary were married on September 24, 1955 at Grand Boulevard Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Eleven months later, their first child, Edwin “Ed” was born. Work ran out in Oklahoma, so the young family moved to Leadville, Colorado, where C.W. worked mining Molybdenum. Their next child, David, was born in March, 1958 in Leadville.

The cold mountain climate was hard on baby David and two-year old Ed. They both came down with serious cases of pneumonia. So, C.W. left a decent paying job and moved his family to Denver. This is but one example of how C.W. put his family first. He was a Godly Man.

For several years, C.W. took on odd jobs, often holding down two jobs to provide for his family. The young family struggled to save enough money from their meager funds, until they were able to buy their first house in 1961 on Devonshire Blvd, in Thornton, a northeast suburb of Denver. With the added expense of a new house, C.W. remained faithful to provide for his family, continuing to work hard in spite of difficult circumstances. At one point, when the family car broke down, C.W. rode his bicycle five miles to his job at a battery company. He got walking pneumonia, but didn’t miss a day of work.

In approximately 1968, about 7 years after moving to Denver, C.W. found out that Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant was hiring. He applied for an entry level position. C.W. was determined to get hired for the good paying position, and called their Personnel Department every day for three weeks until they hired him. He started out as a janitor and worked his way up to a Radiation Monitor. C.W. faithfully worked at Rocky Flats for 30 years. He also loved tinkering with electronics, especially radios and televisions. At one point he even started a TV and radio repair business on the side.

No matter how many jobs C.W. was working or how many hours he worked, he and his family were in church every time the doors were open. C.W. was a Godly Man and leader, not only in his home, but also in the church where he was ordained as a deacon. As you might know, the children of deacons may not always be the best-behaved children in the congregation. The boys received discipline several times in the Church parking lot.

C.W. was also a Godly Servant. Not only did he serve as a deacon in three Southern Baptist churches for approximately 50 years, but he also ran the Bus Ministry at one church for several years, impacting the lives of hundreds of children who never would have attended church without the Bus Ministry. In addition to running and staffing the Bus Ministry, he drove one of the three buses, and he did maintenance and repairs on all three buses. Additionally, C.W. sang in the church choir for over 40 years, because of how much he loved to sing praises to the Lord. He was a Godly Servant of the Lord’s church.

When C.W. was not working, taking his family to church, or doing church ministry, he loved taking his boys fishing and camping. C.W. traveled all over Colorado, and throughout neighboring states with his family, visiting as many National Parks as he could.

After retiring from Rocky Flats, in 1998, C.W. continued to pursue new horizons, enrolling in college and receiving an Associates Degree in Physics.

C.W.’s greatest life accomplishments and legacy was his love for the Lord, his faithfulness to and unconditional love for Mary, and his devotion to his sons, Ed and David.

On Sunday, January 26, 2025, twenty-three days before his 91st birthday, while praise music played in the background, C.W.’s precious dog, Mikey, lay across his legs and Mary, Ed, Kellye, David, and JoAnne’s hands were laying on C.W., when he walked through the eternal gates of heaven and into the arms of Jesus, where he heard his Savior’s voice, “Well done, good and faithful servant... Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:23 (NKJV)

C.W. Hughes is predeceased by his parents, Charley & Dorothy Hughes, his brother, Leo Hughes. He is survived by his two sisters, Melba Joyce Karr & Mary Jo Mosbeck. C.W. is survived by his bride of 69 years, Mary Hughes, their eldest son, Ed & his wife, Kellye; their youngest son, David & his girlfriend, JoAnne Lucero; their grandson, Christopher Hughes.