
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 25, 1958, a son of Raphael and Joan (Brehm) Hughes. He grew up in Hazlet, New Jersey, and graduated from St. John Vianney Regional High School in Holmdel, New Jersey, class of 1976, and immediately enlisted in the United States Navy.
Steve qualified as a Naval Aircrewman and served with Patrol Squadrons 8 and 11 at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine. He also served at Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, Pennsylvania.
He married Diane Langelier of Lewiston, Maine, in 1983.
On Nov. 1, 1988, he received a direct commission to the rank of Ensign. Assignments as a Naval officer included Naval Aviation Schools Command, Pensacola, Florida; Patrol Squadron 40 at Moffett Field, California; Patrol Squadron 26 at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine; Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, Brunswick, Maine; Patrol Squadron Special Projects Unit 1, Brunswick, Maine; and Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland.
He married Penney Brackett Hall of Topsham on May 26, 2001.
Steve retired from active duty in 2004 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
He then worked as a logistician for Naval Air Systems Command. In July 2010, with a heavy heart, Steve ended his career due to symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Steve and Penney enjoyed the adventures of travel. Their trips included several Caribbean cruises, Hawaii, and road trips to Michigan, Maryland, Florida, and Texas. Most memorable was a scenic drive from
Maine to Florida in
Steve’s beloved red
Corvette.
Steve is most remembered as a loving and devoted father and grandfather. He was kind, generous, and fun loving.
He is predeceased by his parents and father-inlaw, Oscar “Bill” Brackett Jr.
He is survived by his loving wife Penney; four children, Sean Hughes and longtime girlfriend Danielle Guy of Topsham, Maine, Andrea Goulet and fiancé Noah Doran of Cumberland, Maine, Heather (Hall) Laframboise and husband Joshua of Sabattus, Maine, and Lyndsay (Hall) Frank and husband Christopher of Mansfield, Texas; two brothers, Christopher Hughes and wife Michelle, and Brian Hughes and wife Christine; a sister, Joanie Wozny and husband Frank; mother-in-law, Thelma Brackett; two brothers in-law, Robin Brackett and wife Sherry and Wayne Brackett; sister-in-law, Sherri Brackett and partner Becky Manry; six grandchildren, Delanie and Greyson Doran, Noah and Cora Laframboise, and Olivia and “baby boy” Frank, who is due in December; and several nieces and nephews including, very special niece Kiley Brackett, very special nephews Brian, Tommy, and Michael Hughes.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Stephen R. Hughes Walk to End Alzheimer’s at www.alz.org/walk. The Stephen R. Hughes Memorial Team will be found under the Portland, Maine Walk.
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