THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 1996 TAG: 9601300253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Rev. Melvin James Hughes Sr., 71, died Jan. 28, 1996, in a local hospital.
He was a retired Southern Baptist minister for the Southern Baptist Church, where he worked for 48 years. He was raised in Princess Anne County, Va. He was a graduate of the University of Richmond and received his Theological Degree from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He was licensed to preach by the Virginia Heights Baptist Church and was ordained at the Providence Baptist Church, Shawboro, N.C., where he served his first pastorate in 1948. He has served as Pastor-Evangelist for 48 years. During his ministry, he has organized three new mission churches and served as the first pastor of each one: The Indian River Baptist Church of Chesapeake, Brentwood Baptist Church of Norfolk and Princess Anne Plaza Baptist Church of Virginia Beach, where he faithfully served for 24 years until retiring in 1987. During the Plaza Pastorate, he baptized nearly 2,000, and over 3,000 joined by letter.
During his ministry, he has baptized over 3,000 souls. Since his retirement, Rev. Hughes has served as interim pastor at various local churches, most recently serving as interim at Central Baptist Church in Norfolk. He has been active also in helping his community, serving as chaplain of fire departments for 15 years and was selected as the first chaplain of the Virginia Beach Police Department. He served his country in the U.S. Navy for four years during World War II. Thanks be unto God for the many lives that have been touched and blessed by his ministry.
He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Thelma R. Mullins Hughes; daughter, Connie L. Schoonover, and her husband, Rick, of Virginia Beach; son, Melvin J. Hughes Jr. and his wife, Michele, of Cary, N.C.; two brothers, Rev. Frank Hughes Jr. of Chesapeake and Irving E. Hughes of Mathews, Va.; five grandchildren, Jamie and Will Hughes, and Brittany, Brook and Jordan Schoonover; mother-in-law, Ethel R. Mullins, of Virginia Beach.
A funeral service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Wednesday by Dr. Walker Stockburger, the Rev. Robert Jordan, the Rev. James Rittenhouse and the Rev. Hank Brooks in Indian River Baptist Church, 1600 Laurel Ave., Chesapeake. Burial will be in Colonial Grove Memorial Park. The family will be at the funeral home today from 7 to 8 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Building Fund of Central Baptist Church, 701 W. Olney Road, Norfolk 23507. Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Lynnhaven Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB