Samuel Calvin Hughes

HUGHES, SAMUEL CALVIN Samuel Calvin Hughes, 52, a lifelong resident of Birmingham, departed this life Saturday, February 9, 2008. He was born April 6, 1955 to Alberta and Floyzell Hughes. He went to West End High School where he was a member of the marching and concert bands, band president, Outstanding Junior and a National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalist. From there he went to the University of Alabama and majored in Journalism; minored in History. Sam was a member of the Million Dollar Band and served as section leader of the clarinet section. As a student, he was able to polish his lifelong love of history, politics and sports - especially the Alabama Crimson Tide. As part of a history class project, he brought Vivian Malone Jones back to the University for the first time since she became one of two Black students to successfully enroll in and integrate the University of Alabama. During his senior year, Sam was a student assistant in the Sports Information Department working under the tutelage of Charlie Thornton, sports information director for Coach Paul Bear Bryant. In the spring 1976, he was named the Outstanding Male Journalism Student and went on to graduate in May. It was also at the University of Alabama his sophomore year that Sam met and started dating Deborah Chenier, a freshman Public Relations major from Tuskegee. They were married on March 31, 1978, and would have celebrated 30-years of marriage next month. Their only child is Jessica, who is in her final semester at Auburn University majoring in Architecture and was the apple of her father's eye and a great source of pride. After graduation from the University, Sam worked for South Central Bell in the Headquarters Public Relations Department, and then in 1982, he joined Civitan International whose world headquarters is located in Birmingham. Over the course of 26+ years, he had a number of job responsibilities. His last was as the Director of Conventions and Meetings, a position that allowed Sam to travel around the world selecting sites and managing conventions for Civitan's worldwide membership. Sam was a longtime member of the Action Civitan Club, serving in a number of Board and officer positions, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters for a number of years. He was also heavily involved in a variety of groups within the Southside CME Church family, including the Sunday School Department, Mass Choir, Men's Choir and the Trustee Board. He leaves to cherish his memory Deborah, his wife; Jessica, his daughter; his brother Noel (Sharilyn) of Westfield, New Jersey, and their family; sister, Jean of New York City; and a host of other relatives and many friends around the Birmingham metro area, Tuscaloosa, Selma, Detroit, Chicago, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi and other locations throughout the world. In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted in his name at the University of Alabama so a deserving Journalism student may also earn a degree from his alma mater. Donations can be sent to: Memorials for Samuel Calvin Hughes, The University of Alabama, Office of University Advancement, P. O. Box 870122, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Respect can be paid Friday afternoon at Arrington Funeral Home from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. only. Respect can also be paid before the funeral Saturday at Southside CME Church, 713 Martin L. King, Jr. Drive SW, Birmingham, AL beginning at 10:30 a.m.; the funeral will begin at noon. Rev. Cheryl Goliday, officiating. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Arrington Funeral Home, Inc. directing.