J. Kent Hughes' Obituary
Joseph Kent Hughes passed away unexpectedly at age 73 in his home in Orem on Wednesday, November 19, 2014. Kent was born February 19, 1941 to Joseph Walden Hughes and Lucille Vivian Johnson Hughes in Washington, DC. He was the oldest of five children, spending his early childhood in Annandale, VA. During his teenage years, his family traveled overseas, living in Lebanon and then the Philippines, where he graduated from high school.
He attended school at BYU, and then served an honorable mission for his Church in French Polynesia (Tahiti). He then returned from his mission to BYU, where he met and married his sweetheart, Lynda Ann Townsend in the Salt Lake Temple. After graduating from BYU, he began a prosperous career with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, DC as a management systems analyst, receiving the government’s bronze medal award for managing the digitizing of all U.S patent documents and developing the system which is still in use today.
Kent and Lynda raised a beautiful family in Northern Virginia. They were blessed with two daughters and a son. Feeling their family wasn’t yet complete, they adopted a son and daughter from Seoul, Korea.
Kent was always a faithful and valiant son of his Heavenly Father. He loved to serve. He loved his Savior. He loved helping others; his family, his church callings, his ward members, his neighbors. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He faithfully served in many callings, his favorites being a home teacher, temple worker and ward newsletter editor. His passions in life were classical music, fine art, history and politics, anything Virginia and everything BYU...and he loved to read about all of the above. He loved spending time with his family and welcomed each new addition. Kent was especially loved by his grandchildren who were the thrill of his later life.
Kent is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Craig and his son-in-law Fernando Ablen. He is survived by his wife, Lynda, his two brothers, Keith (Sally) Hughes and Richard (Bonnie) Hughes, his sister, Mary Ann (Lee) Onstott, his sister-in-law, Christine Hughes, his five children, Michelle Ablen, Erin (Jess) Clifford, Brian (Jadene) Hughes, David (Carmen) Hughes, Amy Hughes (fiancé Jeff Rogers), 16 grandchildren, with 1 great-grandchild and 2 on the way, and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held 11:00 am, Tuesday, November 25, 2014 in the Timpview 5th Ward Chapel, 865 W 1000 N, in Orem, Utah. Both viewings will be held at the Timpview 5th Ward Chapel on Monday, November 24, from 6:00 to 8:00pm and prior to services from 9:45am-10:45am on Tuesday. Interment will be in the Orem City Cemetery.
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