Roger Lee Hughes

Celebration of life for Roger L. Hughes will be Monday, July 31st, 2023 at 10:30 am at the United Methodist Church in Crawford, Nebraska. Viewing will be Sunday, July 30th from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the Chamberlain Funeral Home in Crawford.

Roger Lee Hughes was born February 25, 1937 in Crawford, Nebraska to Ava and Forest Hughes. He grew up in Crawford, graduated from Crawford High School in 1955, and then headed to Germany with the U.S. Army.

On August 12, 1956, he married the love of his life, Janice McMeekin. Together they had three children. After the military, Roger worked for rancher, Perry Moody, and then for Jim Soester at John Deere as a mechanic. In 1967 Roger and Janice purchased Hudson Auto Supply where they worked together for 33 years. He poured his heart and soul into making the NAPA store a very customer-friendly and profitable business. He was basically on-call 24/7, especially when it was harvesting time, as he knew how important it was to keep the machinery in working order. But don’t let this fool you – he was also very committed to his family. Many hours and miles were spent transporting kids to baseball games and motorcycle races, as well as attending his children’s many sporting events. In 1999 they sold the store and retired from work, but did not really retire. Roger then spent many years traveling with Janice to their grandkids’ many sporting and other school events. He loved to golf and was always a mechanic at heart. He spent many hours restoring two old cars, a 1941 Ford and a 1950 Plymouth.

He is survived by his children Dr. Roger (Laura) Hughes, Shari (Jeff) Schlichtemeier, and Dr. Rommie Hughes; grandchildren Madison Hughes, Laramie (Sam) Burki; Ethan, Claire and Evan Hughes; great grandchildren Morgan and Shayde Burki; and many friends and relatives.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Janice Hughes; parents, Ava and Forest Hughes; a brother and many sisters; and a grandson Garrett Schlichtemeier.

Funeral services will be Monday, July 31, 2023 at 10:30 am at Crawford United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established.