Melvin "Doug" Hughes

Mr. Melvin "Doug" Hughes, 81, of Sharpsburg, GA, went to be with the Lord on August 1. Heaven certainly celebrated upon his arrival and after greeting the Lord and his family, Doug most certainly began regaling everyone with stories of his time on Earth, and he's probably still talking as we read this. He passed away at home with his boots on, just as any good Marine would have wanted. He was born in April 1942 in Byromville, GA to the late Lane Hughes and Ione Hughes. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by wife, Joan Adkins Hughes, sister Brenda Hughes, brother Ronald Hughes, step-daughter Sherry Adkins Gossett, and step-son Gary Adkins. Doug grew up in Lilly where he spent his time playing baseball, fishing, hunting and staying out of trouble or at least placing the blame on brother Ronald. He graduated from Vienna High School in 1960. He joined the Marines immediately afterwards and served until 1964 while stationed in Japan. Doug loved to tell two stories from his time in the service. The first being that when he asked his mother what she wanted from Japan, she requested a set of china. So Doug purchased a 12-piece place setting of Noritake and paid to ship back to her in Lilly. He'd laugh and say that shipping actually cost him more than all that china did. Shawn and Tiffany were given that china for their wedding and they still laugh remembering Doug talking about that. The 2nd story he liked to tell is that he met astronaut John Glenn not once but twice. On their 2nd meeting, Doug happened to be on the destroyer sent to pick up Glenn after his Mercury Friendship 7 capsule landed 41 miles off the targeted area in 1962. As Glenn was walking across the ship's deck, Doug was there with all the other servicemen, and John Glenn spotted him amongst the hundreds of people lined up and called out "Hey Hughey" (Doug's military nickname). Doug's brother, Steve, has a lot of memories of their home and the days growing up on the farm in Lilly, GA He says they enjoyed many activities together - hunting, fishing, baseball. The hunting and fishing trips always left them with MANY stories to tell later. Steve's favorite memory of Doug always goes back to when he was teaching Steve to play baseball. He would show him how to hit and catch and if he did it wrong, Steve laughs and says that "Doug kicked me in the rear until I got it right." Steve says his love for him was much more than just because they were brothers - "he was my best friend and my mentor." After returning to Lilly when he was honorably discharged from the service, Doug met and married his first wife, Betty Gleaton in 1966, and moved to Hapeville, GA. The following year, he began his thirty-four year career as a Delta Ramp Service Agent. He was close to his "Ramp Rat" friends and was known to them as "Mush." Over the years, Doug regaled everyone with his stories of things that happened at work. His family always wondered if he actually worked because he made it sound like he was having too good of a time to have actually gotten anything productive done. One of Doug's proudest moments was the birth of his son, Shawn Hughes, in May 1967. He was very involved in Shawn's life, and not only coached Shawn's Little League team for several years, he also taught him how to hunt, fish, drive and many other important life skills. Shawn definitely inherited his gift of gab and his sense of humor from Doug because the apple did not fall far from the tree. Doug divorced his 1st wife and married his late wife, Joan Adkins Hughes, in 1985, and built a house in Sharpsburg. Throughout their marriage, they enjoyed traveling and spending time with friends and family. They attended the weddings of Shawn to his wife, Tiffany in 2003, and Sherry, to her husband Jeff, in 2007. While Doug was proud of his children, nothing made his chest swell more than talking about his grandchildren - Sydney Baker, Dylan Hughes and Ella Gossett. When Shawn and his wife brought Dylan home from Guatemala as a four-year-old, Doug was so excited to be the first one to meet him that he got Delta Buddy Passes for he and Joan so they could meet Dylan as soon as he came though Customs at the airport. He presented Dylan with a John Deere hat which Dylan proudly wore to meet the rest of the family who were waiting at Baggage Claim. It's now seventeen years later and that hat is still one of Dylan's most treasured possessions. Doug passed on his love of all things John Deere and his love of his country to Dylan as well. Doug got to spend a lot of time with granddaughter Ella as she was growing up. One of her fondest memories of her PawPaw was when she and her mom would go to lunch every week with him. In later years, Doug particularly enjoyed his special friends from his beloved Crossroads Church Community group. Their gatherings were the highlight of his week and he did not let anything interfere with his plans to see them. He was particularly glad most were able to attend the surprise 80th birthday party his family threw him last year. Doug had a long and happy life, and if it had to be summed up by one sentence, it would be "serve God, love your family and always be proud to be an American." Godspeed Doug, until we meet again. Carry on Marine. Semper Fi. Oorah. We will be coming together to celebrate Doug's life on Saturday August 12 at Crossroads Church, 2564 GA-154, Newnan, GA with visitation at 10:00 am and a celebration service at 11:00 am. Doug had no use for flowers, so instead, the family asks that you make memorial donations in Doug's honor to Wounded Warrior (www.support.woundedwarriorproject.com/Donate) Forgotten Paws (in honor of Doug's granddogs) (https://www.forgottenpaws.com/donationspage.htm) or contributions can be mailed to Crossroads Church, 3260 GA-16, Sharpsburg, GA 30277. Please celebrate Doug's life by leaving your favorite Doug story (either about him or one he told repeatedly) at www.mckoon.com Survivors include son Shawn (Tiffany) Hughes, and grandson Dylan of Acworth, GA, son-in-law Jeff Gossett, granddaughter Ella of Lake City, GA, granddaughter Sydney Baker, brother Steve (Saranne) Hughes of Cordele, GA, niece Katie (Sam) Purdy of Cordele, GA, niece Sindie (Mike) Bragg of Bristol, VA, nephew Russell Hughes of Rich Hill, MO, great-nieces Emma Bragg, Ansley Purdy and great-nephews Landon Bragg and Walker Purdy. Doug is also survived and celebrated by special friends John and Patty Van Horn and the rest of his beloved Crossroads Community Group. McKoon Funeral Home & Crematory (770) 253-4580

Melvin "Doug" Hughes

April 17, 1942 - August 1, 2023