Born October 3, 1910 Mesquite, Nevada #5 of “The Original 13” Married Lucy on December 13, 1933 Died: August 9, 2003

LEONARD HUGHES was the fifth child born to Charles Authur and Orilla Luella Leavitt Hughes. He was born on October 3, 1910, in Mesquite, Nevada. He was born in their little one room house with a tent attached. He went to grade school through the sixth grade in Mesquite.
His nickname was "Goose". His brother, Dee, gave it to him because when Len was in a play in school, the only line he had to say in the entire play was, "Oh, I am a goose!" That name stuck to Len until his son, little Len, came along and took it. Dee loved to tease all the kids, but Len just took it and went along with it, so he didn't make him cry as often as some of the other of the children.
One time he got a whipping from his dad. They were all over at their little house and Aunt Eve Woodbury came over to the house for something. She was kind of spouting off quite a bit like she did and Len got to mocking her. (He was about 10 years old at the time.) She would say something in her high squeaky voice, and he would mimick her. Grandpa Charles Arthur wasn't home at the time, but when he got home the other kids told him that Len had mocked Aunt Eve. Grandpa insisted that Len go over and apologize to her. Len was scared to death of her and told Grandpa that he didn't want to go do it. Grandpa said that Len had to go or he would have to whip him. Len said, "Then you'd better give me a whippin!", and that is just what Grandpa did. Then he called all the children together and and said, "I want you all to know why I whipped Len. If you ever see me making fun of anyone, then it is okay for you to do that. But if you do something wrong that you haven't seen me do, you can expect a whippin, too!" Len says he learned a valuable lesson right then and there, and he's tried every day of his life to follow Grandpa's example and make good choices.
Len was Grandpa Hughes' little shadow from the time he was very small. He spent most of his time with his dad in the fields. It didn't matter what time Grandpa would go to the fields in the morning, Len was toddling along behind him. He would hang on to the mowing machine seat until he'd get tired and then Grandpa would take and put some hay up in front of him and Len would sit there and ride on the mower with him. Bacause of spending so much time with Grandpa, many of Grandpa's habits rubbed off on Len. He says, "I wish even more of his habits had rubbed off on me!" Len is a hard worker and attributes his work ethic to the many hours he spent with his father working in the fields. Len worked away from home a lot of his years and sent his money to Grandpa to help out on the farm.
When he was 19 years old, he married a girl in town named Ruth Leavitt. A little girl was born and was named Nona. The marriage didn't work out, so they were divorced in 1931.
He first met the great love of his life (Lucy Chyrrel Judd) when she came down to Mesquite to help her sister, Lois, when she had her first baby, DeMar. Lois was married to Len's brother, Dee. Len really took a liking to this dark eyed beauty and decided that his would like her for his wife. She stayed in Mesquite for three months to help Lois, and Len and Chyrrel went together as much as possible. That summer, she went down on the Indian Reservation to work at a Trading Post. It was about 200 miles from anywhere, and she got very lonesome. Len started writing letters to her and he thinks that is how he finally won her over--she was down there far from home and very lonely. He tells about the night he proposed to her. She was never one to carry on much of a conversation. He asked her if she thought enough of him to marry him and all she said was, "Yes." Then he asked her if she would, and she said, "Yes." They were married in the St. George Temple on December 13, 1933. They lived their entire married life in Mesquite. Len worked away much of the time, but Chyrrel kept things going on at home. We sort of lived the United Order in the family. Everyone put in what they could and Grandpa would destribute out to the different families what they needed. We always were able to go up to the dairy and get all the milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and vegetables and fruits that we needed.
Six children were born to them--Melvin, born 15 September, 1934; Gladys, born 9 June, 1936; Kara Lynne, born 22 August, 1943; Sandra, born 5 September, 1945 ; and the twins, Chyrrel Gwen and Charles Len, born 21 July, 1947. Every year brings an increase to their posterity.
Len has served faithfully in the Church in whatever capacity he has been called to serve. Several times he served as Sunday School Superintendent, and served in the Moapa Stake High Priest Quorum Presidency, and was President of the M.I.A. for many years. He has been High Priest Group leader several times.
Chyrrel suffered a massive paralytic stroke in July , 1982, which immobilized her left side and confined her to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. Len took over the care of her for the last three years of her life. We saw a gentleness and devotion that we didn't know he was capable of before her stroke. We honor and love him for the tenderness and love and care he gave to our sweet mother those last years before she passed away on October 14, 1985.
Many years after Chyrrel died, Kara Lynne was talking with her Dad and said, "Dad, I'm really surprised that you haven't remarried. Why didn't you ever re-marry?" His answer endeared him even more to his daughter as he said, "After you have had the best, why settle for second- best?"
At the time of this writing, 2003, Dad will be 93 years old on his next birthday. He often says, "I have many children, children- in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and they all love me! What more could a man ask for?"

LUCY CHYRREL JUDD HUGHES was the 10th child of Mary Evelette Johnson Judd and Henry Eli Judd, Sr. She was born on October 19, 1912, in Fredonia, Arizona, where she received her primay and secondary education, up to and including the high school Sophomore year. Her Junior year of high school was spent at St. George, Utah attending Dixie High. That year she was nominated for "D" Day Queen and rode on the float in the "D" Day Parade. Her Senior year was spent in Salt Lake City where she graduated from Granite High School.
She developed many talents during her school years including sewing, crocheting, quilting, singing, playing the piano and organ, and styling hair. She had many opportunities to use all of these talents throughout her lifetime. In fact, she served as the Ward or Stake Organist for over 49 years! She served as organist in every auxiliary organization in the Ward and Stake--Primary, Sunday School, M.I.A., Relief Society, and even Priesthood! She also served in the Relief Society Presidency and the M.I.A. Presidency. She pieced and quilted hundreds of quilts in her lifetime--each one of them a treasure. Everyone loved to have Chyrrel come and help quilt because of her tiny, neat stitches, and she quilted so fast! She proved to be a proficient homemaker and a wonderful mother. Her children were taught to work. Her motto was "The work you do is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on earth."
She was also a Stake Missionary for two years, and sang or played for the Ward Choir or the Singing Mother's Choir for many years. She even sang in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City at General Conference on several different occasions with the Regional Singing Mother's Choir.
She suffered from serious injuries sustained from two horrible car accidents, both of which could have taken her life, but through Priesthood blessings and loving care from those around her, she recovered from both. The first one occured when they had only two children, and as she was returning from Stake Conference in Las Vegas with Bishop Abbott and his wife. They were involved in a car crash and she ended up with a broken back. She was in a full body cast for over nine months, and the doctors told her she would never walk again. Boy, did she prove them wrong! She went on to have four more children, including a set of twins! The second accident was in 1967 when a young boy from California in a stolen car, hit her head on as she waited at a stop sign a block from her home in Mesquite. Her little four year old granddaughter, ReNae (Melvin's and Ione's baby), was killed instantly and Chyrrel was in intensive care in Salt Lake City for many months. Again, she was in a body cast for several months. Through it all, she was very patient with not a word of complaint. She just took life as it came and made the most of it.
About three years before her death, she suffered a massive stroke which left her paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. She passed away on October 14, 1985, and was buried in Mesquite on her 73rd birthday, October 19, 1985.
We, their family, give our highest honor and deepest respect and love to this wonderful couple who taught us and loved us and sacrificed so much of themselves that we might become who we are today.