Phyllis (Dale) Hughes, 73, of Plymouth, died in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 25, 2010, at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, after a lengthy and well-fought battle with ovarian cancer.
Mrs. Hughes was born April 11, 1936, in Belmont and was raised and educated in Arlington. She was the beloved daughter of the late Walter and Marie Phyllis (Teeven) Dale.
She was the devoted mother of Sherrie Hughes of Plymouth and Joseph Hughes of Boston; the loving Nana of Annie Elizabeth, Sarah and J.D.; and the dear sister of Walter Dale and his wife, Susan, of Priscilla Beach, Carole McManus and her husband, Joseph, of Walpole, Priscilla Conley and husband, John, of Priscilla Beach and West Palm Beach, Fla., Doris Harrington and her husband, Thomas, of Chatham and Boston, Janet Dale of Milford, and Susan Dale, CDP, Sister of Divine Providence, of Kingston and Pittsburgh, Pa.
She was also the sister of the late Andrea Sampson and her husband, Francis, of Sugarloaf, Pa., and Hutchinson Island, Fla.
She also leaves 17 nieces and nephews, many cousins and many dear friends.
Mrs. Hughes spent her summers at White Horse Beach in Plymouth starting in 1942, when she was just 6 years old. Her first job was at Emerson’s store on White Horse Beach in 1949, selling penny candy, cold drinks and ice cream. From 1953 until 1971, she held several positions in the insurance industry, as a sales and service representative.
After moving to Plymouth year-round, she remained at home raising her family for six years. But one day in 1975, she was on Plymouth Long Beach with her children and their friends and was reading the Old Colony Memorial when she noticed an ad for an entry-level job at the paper, promising “mothers’ hours.” She applied for the position but was not hired because she refused to work for $2.50 an hour. A week later, after the first candidate failed to pan out, the paper called her back and offered her the job again – for an additional 25 cents an hour.
Within a few months, she was promoted to the post of outside print media salesperson and over the next three to four years continued to climb to other positions within the newspaper company. By 1982, she had been named president and publisher of MPG Newspapers, a title later expanded to president and publisher of the entire Memorial Press operation.
Mrs. Hughes developed a deep passion for the newspaper business, and during her 30-year tenure with the company she loved mentoring dedicated newspaper employees – just as she had been mentored by the company’s owner, Roger Miles.
From 1976 through 2007, Mrs. Hughes served on many committees and boards in the community and within the newspaper industry. She was a past president of the Rotary Club of Plymouth, where she was named a Paul Harris Fellow. She served on the Board of Directors of the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, was a trustee with the Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation, and served on the Jordan Hospital Board of Directors and the Jordan Hospital Systems Board. She also served as president and trustee of the Children’s Community Fund, chairman of Kids Voting Plymouth, president of the New England Press Association, as a member of the Suburban Newspapers of America Board of Directors, president of the New England Press Scholarship Foundation and on the Board of Directors for Certified Audit of Circulation.
Mrs. Hughes was recognized with many community and professional awards, including a place in both the New England Newspaper Association Hall of Fame and the New England Press Association Hall of Fame.
A loyal Red Sox fan, she enjoyed traveling and movies, knitting and board games, competitive sports and doing research. She also enjoyed the many cities she visited in the United States and Canada as part of her service to so many organizations, as well as traveling with her children and grandchildren, including visits to Europe and the Caribbean.
In her final years, she wintered in West Palm Beach, but said that every day spent in Plymouth was like sunshine when she was with her daughter, Sherrie, and her granddaughter, Annie Elizabeth, (who were her next-door neighbors), and her close family members and wonderful, supportive friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, at St. Bonaventure Church on State Road in Manomet.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Jordan Hospital Philanthropy, 275 Sandwich St., Plymouth, MA 02360, toward an endowment fund the hospital plans to establish in her name; to the M. Patricia Cronin Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Box 101, Quincy, MA 02171; or the charity of one’s choice.