Gail Hughes
Share
Gail Hughes of Lawrence, Kansas, previously of California, Missouri passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 21, 2023.
Gail Hughes was born June 10, 1931, in Versailles, Missouri the son of Met and Lorene Hughes. He has a younger sister, Karen Hughes Hall who survives. He was married on November 11, 1949, to Dorothy Kauffman, his wife of seventy years who preceded him in death.
Hughes graduated from Versailles High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Central Methodist University and graduate degrees in Public Administration from University of Missouri, Columbia and in Criminal Justice Administration from Central Missouri State University.
He spent 41 years with the Missouri Department of Corrections, starting as a corrections caseworker at the Missouri State Penitentiary in 1952. He was Chief of the State’s Probation and Parole system for twenty years and ended his last eight years with the Department as Deputy Director retiring in 1993. From the time of his retirement until December of 2006 he was employed as Executive Secretary for the Association of Paroling Authorities, International. Hughes also worked for the Center for Effective Public Policy, a Washington D. C. consulting firm doing work for the U.S. Justice Department. He is the past president of the Central States Corrections Association, Missouri Corrections Association, California Progress Inc., Moniteau County R-l School Board, Moniteau County Library Board, Moniteau County Historical Society, Moniteau County Democrat Central Committee, and was the first chairperson of the Missouri State Sentencing Commission. He served on a number of local, state, and national commissions and boards and was the author of many professional articles. He has been a consultant for federal and state criminal justice agencies. He has the distinction of being the only person to be the recipient of the three highest awards of his profession: E. R. Cass Award from the American Correction Association, Walter Durbar Award from the American Probation and Parole Association and the Vincent O’Leary Award from the Association of Paroling Authorities, International. In addition, he is the recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Missouri Bar Association; Citizen of the Year Award from the California Chamber of Commerce, The Spirit of the Manito Award from the Moniteau County Historical Society, Moniteau County Democrat Hall of Fame, and was an active member of the United Methodist Church. He received other honors and awards relating to his career and community service. He lived in California, Missouri from 1955 until 2021 when he moved to Lawrence, Kansas to be near his Family.
His survivors include one son Steven Hughes and his wife Ruth Allee Hughes of Lawrence, Kansas, two daughters Deborah Engelbrecht, PhD and her husband Earl of Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Mary Kay Merrill and her husband Bill of Grand Junction, Colorado; four grandchildren: Nick Engelbrecht MD (Sabra), Lora Engelbrecht Sebold, Amber Hughes Merrill (Dimitri) and Cameron Hughes (Emma); nine great grandchildren Savannah, Sarah, Sidney, and Sutton Sebold, Dawson and Leo Engelbrecht, Metlin and Milo Merrill and Graham (Hopper) Hughes.
Services will be held at the Lawrence United Methodist Church at 2:00 PM on Friday February 3rd and at the California United Methodist Church at 1:00 PM on Saturday February 4th.
No flowers please. Memorials can be made to the California United Methodist Church, Lawrence United Methodist Church, Moniteau County Missouri Library or Central Methodist University and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.
Gail popped into my office at 7c in St. Louis one day in 1974 just to sort of introduce himself and discuss local issues. I was impressed that the chief supervisor took the time to talk with a rookie PO. He made his staff feel important useful. And, over the years, he would recognize and speak with me at P&P events. The Division of Probation & Parole could not have had a more knowledgeable and compassionate leader.
Our entire family has so many fond memories of Gail and Dorothy! I had the privilege of working with him at Probation and Parole where he was highly respected as well as at California UMC on many committees. He was so appreciated and loved!
I was honored to have known Mr Hughes. He was a man of integrity, knowledge, and humility. He will be missed by many! ♥️
David Kilgore
Gail and Dorothy lead the MYF youth group in the UHC for all 7 of my sisters, both of my brothers, and my self and had a had an everlasting influence on our lives. He will always be with us in sprit and missed!!
Very sorry to hear of Mr Hughes passing . I worked under his leadership as a probation and parole officer in Jefferson City. He was a kind individual and highly respected in his profession. I am privileged to have known him.
Gail will be missed, we met often when he was the chairman of the Democrat Party and I was the chairman of the Republican Party to work out the best political climate for Moniteau County. He was a kind hearted gentleman that I call my friend. The world is a better place because he was a servant of God.
Gail and Dorothy let my mom carpool with them for several years so she could take care of my girls while I continued my nursing career.( working with Dorothy). Great people
Gail was the consummate gentleman! Everyone admired him for his ability to make things happen! He was a kind and gentle man, and was loved by all! We were blessed to have known him!
Gail was my mother’s, Patricia Hughes, first cousin. They were good friends their whole lives. When they were together they told some great stories of growing up in the Hughes family. A few years ago mom and I visited with Gail and Dorothy. That visit will forever remain a special memory to me. Earlier this year I helped Gail track down his cousin Jim. He was so happy to be in contact with him again. I received such a sweet message thanking me. What a great man.
Dorothy was my first Sunday school teacher when I was 2 year old and that how long I knew Gail and Dorothy. Gail always had a smile on his face and always something kind to say to everyone. He was always at the church working whenever needed and in the community as well. He and Dorothy were such a great couple and raised 3 wonderful children. He will be missed by many but I know he and Dorothy are together again.
Gail was a man of deep convictions and the courage to live them out. He and Dorothy shared an abiding love that was witnessed by all who knew them. He was such a blessing in my life and I strive to carry that blessing forward.
A wonderful man and colleague in corrections, Gail and Dorothy became travel companions and close friends with my wife Gina and me and we enjoyed great times together. He is missed beyond measure. Our thoughts are with his family, who we were also blessed to know and spend time with.
A giant of a man, who worked tirelessly for the professionalism of Corrections. My mentor
Gus Moller, spoke so highly of Gail and his devotion to the profession. He understood the totality of Corrections, which is not always practiced as we have specialized into silos! Thank you for your example.
I was honored to have been a relative of this gentleman. He was truly a classic of a gentleman. Dorothy and Gail were an inspiration of true love. I am going to miss him but it is so reassuring to know they are together again, and healthy. We will miss his kindness, thoughtfulness and love.
Maybe once in your life you are lucky enough to have someone come along, more or less out of the blue, and become a lifelong friend, mentor, and boss all at the same time. I just learned of Gail Hughes’ passing on January 21st. He was such a person. I am so honored and privileged to have known him, let alone work for him. We kept in touch sporadically over the years and many miles, but I was able to spend some time with him this past April. I wish I had a tape recording of our time together that day as we shared and recounted so many stories. His advice and integrity shaped my life over the years that we were friends and closely associated at work and afterwards going back to 1979. I still smile and remember some of his stories. (Remember: “Don’t wrestle with a pig. The pig enjoys it, and you just get yourself dirty.”) He is so greatly missed.
Gail was a giant in the field of probation, parole and corrections. I will always remember his professional counsel to me in my career, his calm manner and his wit. You would be confident that when you asked him to take on a task, he would excel in the work. His contributions enhanced the professionalism of probation, parole and corrections in Missouri and throughout the U.S. Dorothy and Gail were such an inspiration.
Bobbie Huskey
Past President, American Correctional Association
Gail was such a dear and caring man. He was a lover. The love that he had for his wife was definitely his greatest. He had so many friends. I am proud to say that I was one of them. May he rest in peace and be remembered for his kindness. (He also enjoyed music and was a fine dancer. )
Gail was a huge asset to the Incarceration Alternatives committee in Justice Matters in Lawrence, where he shared his wealth of knowledge on any number of topics related to incarceration. When he spoke, he did so ever so calmly and with humility, rather than arrogance, and we listened. Gail was always cheerful, kind and considerate. In our committee discussions he interacted with genuine interest in what others had to say, without diminishing their views, despite all of his experience and knowledge. It was easy to tell that Gail had practiced his profession with compassion for those in jails and prisons, and that compassion still shined through. When he spoke, we listened carefully. We will miss his him.
Oh my, words cannot describe what a caring kind person he was. I recall my conversation with him when I called him asking to be reinstated to a position with the agency…at that time I was a retired juvenile parole officer with a ranking of a 3. He respected the guidelines set by the Personnel Dept, and advised I could not be employed with the same rank which was ok with me. I retired in 1988. Teresa A Weaver now living in Springfield, MO