Corena Morgan Hughes

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Corena Morgan Hughes (Mrs. Paul C Hughes), 96, passed away peacefully in Memphis on the morning of August 16, 2015.

Hughes was born April 25, 1919, at home in rural southern Arkansas near Tichnor, Arkansas to Fred and Nellie Morgan. She was raised in and graduated from High School in Gillett, Arkansas; she was married to Paul C. Hughes in Memphis, September 22, 1951.

She resided in Blytheville until the last several years. Her husband was the Chief Executive Officer of the Farmers Soybean Corporation until his death in 1999. In Blytheville she raised six children and was involved in the local community. She was a veteran of World War II; she served in the Waves as a pharmacist mate in the U.S. Navy, she started her training in Hunter College in New York, finished her training in Bethesda Hospital in Maryland, was last stationed in Corpus Christi and mustered out in Norman, Oklahoma, where she and was honorably discharged. She worked in an ammunition plant in Conway, Arkansas during the summertime through her college years and attended several different Arkansas colleges. She received a Master's degree in English from the University of Arkansas and taught school in small communities across Arkansas and worked in a physician's office in Memphis before her marriage. She was a Girl Scout leader, a Red Cross volunteer, an active member in the Altar Society with the Immaculate Conception Church and was a long standing member of the Blytheville Women's Club and the Explorers Bible Study. Hughes was known for her devoted faith, passion for gardening, voracious reading, cooking skills, love of children, and her sly sense of humor.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brothers, Merrill Morgan and Leonard Morgan.

She is survived by all six of her children: Rosemary Hughes and her husband Keith Merritt of Jonesboro, Arkansas., Craig C Hughes and his wife Christine Hughes of Scottsdale, Arizona., Mark Hughes and his wife Donna L. Hughes of Muskogee, Oklahoma, Cecilia (Toni) Hughes of Memphis, Tennessee, Paula Hughes Cortner of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Nellie Herring and her husband Robert Herring of Huntersville, North Carolina. She is also survived by grandchildren Alison Hughes Perrault of Portland, Oregon, Jacob Hughes of Tempe, Arizona, Jordan Hughes of Glendale, Arizona, Danielle Alexandra Hughes Del Castillo of Scottsdale, Arizona, Theresa Hughes Chavarren of Manassas, Virginia, Justin Hughes Merritt of Jackson, Louisiana, Tyler Cortner of Houston, Texas, and Michael Herring of Charlotte, North Carolina. She is also survived by grandsons and granddaughters-in-law, great grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Mass will be held at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Blytheville, Arkansas on Wednesday at 3 p.m., a Rosary will be held at 2:30 p.m.. Burial will be at the Gillett Cemetery on Thursday at 1:00 p.m., where she will lay to rest next to her husband. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Immaculate Conception Church or to the existing Paul and Corena Hughes Scholarship Funds at Arkansas Northeastern College. Cobb Funeral Home is in charge of the services. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.cobbfuneralhome.com.