Robert Patrick Hughes

Robert Patrick Hughes, 64, a Rehoboth Beach resident who enjoyed the company of a wide circle of friends and who had been a pharmaceuticals executive, passed away on Friday, November 26, 2021, at his Canal Pointe home.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of the late Robert Patrick and Anna Mary Kiernan Hughes. Mr. Hughes was a 1975 graduate of Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. Mr. Hughes was most recently project manager at Human Genome Sciences. 

In 1978 he met his future husband, Edward J. Kelly. In the early 1990s, after years of spending the summers at Rehoboth Beach, they selected a lot during the initial construction period at Salt Pond in Bethany Beach. They moved to Canal Point in 2007.

Mr. Hughes attended the Rehoboth Art League’s annual summer exhibition and was a patron of Delaware artists. He and his husband delighted in hosting an annual summer party and staged elaborate brunches and other meals. They also were stalwarts of Rehoboth’s gay community. Friends recalled his loyalty, happy spirit, and pleasant demeanor.

Mr. Hughes was a member of St. Edmond’s Roman Catholic Church.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Hughes was predeceased by his partner, Edward J. Kelly, in 2016. He is survived by his sister, Elizabeth “Liz” Hughes Legrand (Ronnie) of Frederick, Maryland; his brother, James Francis Hughes (Beth) of Martinsburg, West Virginia; his nephews: Timmy Meehan and Nathaniel Hughes; his nieces: Katie Cummings (Floyd) and Amy Hughes; his sisters-in-law: Ellen Cora Kelly, Mary Stewart “Mimi” Kelly, and Josephine Kelly; and his brother-in-law, Jacques Kelly.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Saturday, December 4, 2021, at St. Edmond’s.

Final care for Mr. Hughes has been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes, Delaware. Please sign the virtual guestbook located on the tribute page.▼