Nicholas Hughes

Nicky was the best! You always hear about people who would have done anything for anyone, and Nick was no different. If anyone needed anything, he was right there giving them everything that he had. I remember the day his father died tragically from suicide he was more concerned about me and his little sister Christy than anything else. You know those numb hugs that people give in times of mourning when the family comes together and no-one can believe what has just happened? The ones that say “I want to show you that I care, but I am hurting inside too? Not Nicky. His were the ones that completely engulfed you, made you feel safe, warm, and truly made you feel like everything would truly be okay. It didn’t matter how much he was hurting, he just wanted to make your pain go away. He gave them to everyone, all day long. And in 2004, seven years after we lost his father (my godfather), we lost my grandmother to dementia and Alzheimer’s. He was right there, by everyone’s side, crying with us while everyone was sharing memories of our family matriarch. Making sure to tell everyone that now she was with her son, and she would give him a kick in the butt for each one of us that was still mad he took his own life.
He made sure that his niece Hailey and nephew Brendon knew how much they were loved. Made sure his little brother Bobby and little sister Christy were always looked after when they went out of the house by the people around the town, and make sure they stayed out of trouble. Made sure his brother Dave knew just how important he was in his life, even though they went through a lot together, he would ALWAYS be there for him. And Dez… well, he always told me that he just wanted her to be happy, and it didn’t matter what she did, as long she kept Hailey by her side.
He loved his two uncles so much, and wanted to be successful, just like them. His aunts… MAN! They were always getting on him about what he should do, and what he needed to do. He always listened; smiled, made sure he gave them a big kiss when they were done, and told them he loved them. Let me just tell you now, even though he might not have followed your advice, he sure did pass it on to the rest of us, and it was important to him. Just like his large iced coffee from Dunkin’s and a pack of Newports. His little cousins meant the world to him. He always wanted the best for them, and for them to be successful. Nicky always thought that our family was special because of how close we were. He would be SO proud of both Michael and Michelle.
When he died, there was nobody there to give those big safe hugs that I knew as the only true source of comfort. There was no-one there for me to call at 3:30 in the morning when I couldn’t sleep. There was no-one there to steal my CD’s and then make sure I got 2 back for the one that was borrowed. There is no-one there to call when you really need something, and don’t want to hear about how much of an inconvenience it is to do/get it for you.
This is the type of guy Nicky was:
When I was in high school, he used to pick me up from school and drive in traffic for an hour to get me to work on time, and it would make him late. This was just to make sure that I had money in my pocket, and I could save for school. He did things like this for everyone, all the time.
Please, share a memory. We have lost too many people in our family, we need to stay connected.