Michelle M. "Mitch" Hughson

Mitch (Michelle) wore her heart and her rainbow colors on her sleeve. She loved her sons, Lance and Luke, her dog Jada, and her circle of friends. She enjoyed dancing, camping, and a number of hobbies, including designing oil candles. She threw herself into everything she did: new relationships, hobbies, whatever.

She worked exceptionally hard at the hospital, where she was a radiation tech, doing her best for everyone who came through her rooms. She did thousands of mammograms, and many other "delicate" procedures, and she had a great concern for each individual patient. She exercised her professional skills to make each and every person as comfortable as possible, and the procedures as quick as possible. She saw the essential, individual person inside each body.

If she was in love with you, she showered you with roses and cards and notes written in steam on the mirrors. When she came out as a lesbian, she decorated her life in rainbows. She was very "crafty," so the oil candles she started designing were a natural progression for her. You never knew when she'd get a decorating idea in her head, and the next time you went to her house, everything would be painted, redecorated, rearranged.

On September 17, 2001, Mitch Hughson passed through the veil, going on ahead into the "Peace which passes all understanding."

She is sadly missed by her many friends in Jackson and surrounding areas. Mitch fought a short, intense battle against aggressive T-cell lymphoma. Misdiagnosed in the spring with Bell’s Palsy, she learned in June the true nature of the disease. Mitch passed away quietly in her sleep at home, in the care of hospice.

During her illness she was reunited with her father, Jim Michael. Jim was one of Michelle’s primary care givers, along with Terri Van Horn and Penny Ulvund. Jim’s love for his daughter and their relationship was a blessing for all her friends who welcomed him into our circle. Many other friends were there for her in ways both big and small. Much of her family tried to be supportive, to the best of their abilities.

Mitch’s friends are grateful for her final gift to us: the love we shared by coming together around her, and the opportunity to share with her how much she meant to us.

“Love is patient, love is kind. . . . .Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres . . . And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
-- 1 Corinthians 13

We want to share more of her bright spirit with the world, and will share a few of our favorite stories in the future.

Donations may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605 (www.leukemia.org).