RICHARD E. HUGHES

1923 - 2011

Richard E. Hughes

OXFORD ? Richard E. Hughes, M.D., 87, died Tuesday, March 1, 2011, resting peacefully at his home in Oxford.

Born on Aug. 15, 1923, at Orange Memorial Hospital in Orange, N.J., to the late Helen Hughes Wachenfeld and Harry E. Hughes, he was raised by his mother and his stepfather, the late Thomas Wachenfeld, in East Orange, N.J.

Following graduation from Clifford J. Scott High School in East Orange in 1940, Dr. Hughes was employed by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Newark and New York City. At age 18, he was inspired to serve his country due to the events of World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and set off for Burma, where he served under the command of Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill in the 5307th Regiment, also known as Merrill's Marauders. In 1944, he received a field commission as a second lieutenant and returned to the United States for officer's training.

After his discharge from the Army as a first lieutenant, he entered Harvard University in 1947 and after only two years, was admitted to Harvard Medical School, where he received his medical degree in 1953.

Dr. Hughes interned at Philadelphia General Hospital and received his general surgical training at York Hospital in York, Pa. He was trained in cardiothoracic surgery at both the University of Pittsburgh and George Washington University Hospital. Upon completion of his training, he was an instructor in surgery at George Washington University Medical School and assistant chief of surgery at the DC Chest Hospital in Glenn Dale, Md.

In 1962, Dr. Hughes was enticed to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he began his practice as a cardiothoracic surgeon at Peninsula General Hospital (now Peninsula Regional Medical Center) in Salisbury.

His professional accomplishments include his leadership in establishing the intensive care unit at Peninsula General in 1964 and leading, along with Dr. Nevins W. Todd, the surgical team that performed the first open heart surgery in a community hospital in Maryland in 1974. Additionally, during his tenure at Peninsula General, Dr. Hughes served as chairman of the Department of Surgery and created the Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

He served terms as president of both the Wicomico County Medical Society and the Eastern Shore Heart Association. A fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians, he was also a member of the Board of Governors committee, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Aesculapian Society. Dr. Hughes continued to serve the hospital community until his retirement in 1992.

Always looking for ways to improve medicine in the community, Dr. Hughes formed the Hughes Non-Invasive Vascular Lab in 1980. He remained the director, even after retirement, until 1994.

In addition to his professional associations, Dr. Hughes was also a member (and former Board of Governors member) of Talbot Country Club, the Tred Avon Yacht Club, the Navy League of the United States, the Miles River Sail and Power Squadron, and Poplar Island Yacht Club. He was also a former member of the board of directors of the YMCA.

A lifelong Episcopalian, he was a member of Church of the Holy Trinity in Oxford and a former member of St. Peter's Church in Salisbury.

A Northerner who truly embraced the culture of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he enjoyed sailing, playing golf, keeping fit and spending time with his family both in Salisbury and Oxford. His favorite foods included Chesapeake Bay oysters, crabs and Bill Eason's corn. For the past 15 years, he and his wife, Doris, wintered in Naples, Fla.

In 2009, he completed and published his memoirs, "Four Belles: The Celebration of a Life." This accomplishment brought him great personal pleasure and peace. It is a wonderful legacy to his wife, his children and grandchildren.

His memory will endure through his loving wife of 49 years, Doris Stump Hughes of Oxford; his four daughters, Amy Hughes Hirsch of Ambler, Pa., husband, Kevan, and her stepdaughters, Sally H. Tabor and Jennifer Hirsch, Susan Hughes Mertes of Annapolis and husband, Fred, Sarah G. Hughes of Salisbury, Abigail Hughes Marsh of Salisbury and husband, Steve; and five grandchildren, Keegan, Dulaney, Leighton and Campbell Marsh of Salisbury and Wil Mertes of Annapolis.

Memorial services in celebration of Dr. Hughes' life will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Church of the Holy Trinity at 502 S. Morris St. in Oxford and Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. Peter's Episcopal Church at 115 St. Peter's St. in Salisbury.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Church of Holy Trinity, PO Box 387, Oxford, Md. 21654; The Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, Md. 21601; or the Tred Avon Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program, PO Box 337, 100 W. Strand, Oxford, Md. 21654.

Funeral arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home PA in Easton. For online tributes, please visit www.fhnfuneralhome.com.