Jesse D. Hughes

Jesse Dean Hughes, 27, of St. Paul, died Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, at Bryan LGH Medical Center East in Lincoln. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Ray Kosmicki will officiate. Burial will be in the Elmwood Cemetery at St. Paul. Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church. Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Hughes was born on Nov. 10, 1982, at Clear Lake, South Dakota, the son of Jeffrey J. and Penny L. (Reed) Hughes. He is survived by his fiancée, Angela Unger and her daughter, Olivia Unger, both of St. Paul, as well as, their unborn daughter, Elliana Hughes, due in March; his mother and father, Penny and Howard Beck of St. Paul; his father, Jeffrey Hughes of Lewistown, PA; sister, Kaitlynn Beck of St. Paul; brother, Tyler Beck of St. Paul; half-sister, Rachel Hughes of Watertown, SD; two half-brothers, Joshua and Zachery Hughes, both of Lewistown, PA; grandmother, Donna Hughes of Lewistown, PA; step-grandmother, Rose Irvine of St. Paul; grandfathers, H. Dean “Doc” Hughes of Slayton, MN and Larry Elliott of Lander, WY; and his great-grandfather, Walter Hammond of Lexington; as well as, many aunts, uncle, and cousins. He is also survived by Angela’s parents, Dave and Pat Unger of McCook; her brother, Chance Unger of Lincoln; and her grandparents, Melvin and Glenva Unger of McCook. He was preceded in death by his beloved grandparents, Richard and Barbara Reed and Bill Irvine; great-grandparents, Myrene Hammond and George and Edna Reed; and Angie’s grandparents, Emory and Lucy Putz. Jesse first lived in Clear Lake, but as a young boy, moved with his mother to live with his grandpa and grandma Reed, near Farwell. He attended St. Paul Public Schools through his junior year and graduated from Elba High School in 2001. He then moved to Ocala, FL to live with his father, Jeff, where he worked at a local funeral home. He then moved to Kansas City where he attended the Kansas City Kansas Community College and studied Mortuary Science. He returned to Nebraska and worked at Nebraska Energy in Aurora for a time and went back to farming with his grandpa Reed. After the death of his grandparents, he continued to farm with his uncle, Dick Reed. This past year he worked as the clubhouse manager at the St. Paul Country Club. He had just joined the St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department this month. Jesse coached St. Paul American Legion Baseball teams for several years and was very proud that the team was sponsored in honor of his grandparents and renamed Reed Farms several years ago. He truly loved coaching baseball! He enjoyed golfing, hunting, dirt biking, anything outdoors and spending time with his family and friends. He was also a huge Cornhusker Football and Red Sox Baseball fan. He will be truly missed by his family, many friends and his beloved bulldog, Bo. In lieu of flowers and plants, the family requests that memorials be given to the family to establish an educational fund for his daughters.