–as scores turn up to pay last respects
Senior Counsel Clarence Hughes was remembered as a lover of the law, a generous contributor to society and a devoted family man during a simple funeral service yesterday at the St Andrews Kirk where many turned up to pay their final respects.
Among those in attendance at the church, which did not have adequate seating to accommodate all of the mourners, were leaders in politics, the judiciary and civil society. They included Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and his wife, Opposition Leader David Granger, Chancellor Carl Singh, the Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and members of civil society.
The service started on time at 10am and following an opening hymn, several persons gave tributes, including his law firm partner Senior Counsel Robin Stoby and Senior Counsel Brynmore Pollard.
His eldest son, prominent local attorney Nigel Hughes, who delivered the eulogy, recalled how his father did all he could do to mould him and his two siblings into the persons they are today.
Nigel said that his father, a Berbician by birth, was the third generation of Hughes in Guyana and was very proud of his hometown New Amsterdam.
He mapped out his father’s educational background, including his studies in England, and shared some intimate details of his family life. He said that his father was stern about education and paid for post graduate degrees for each of his children.
He said Hughes wanted each of his children to follow in his footsteps and become barristers. However, it was only Nigel who took this career path. He explained that his sister Elizabeth, from the beginning, was opposed becoming a lawyer but Hughes managed to negotiate with her. He noted she completed her legal education, got admitted to the bar and then became a fashion creator.
Stuart, the youngest of the three, stayed away from the legal profession and chose to become an engineer.
According to Nigel, his father always played an integral part in their lives.
Giving a background on his legal career, Nigel said that in 1960 his father established his own chambers on Hadfield Street. Later in 1972, the Hughes, Fields and Stoby law firm came into being. Nigel said that it was his father’s goal to establish a “first class law firm.”
He said the firm was expanded in 1985, then again in 1987, 1988 and in 1990.
Hughes, he added, frequently appeared in the Court of Appeal in many landmark cases, 33 of which appeared in the West Indian Law Reports. He also appeared before the Privy Council.
Hughes was conferred with the honour of Senior Counsel in 1985, following the death of the then president Forbes Burnham, and “it was an award many felt was long overdue but delayed for political considerations.”
He said that today, the law firm has a leading rank according to chambers and partners, globally and in the UK. “He built Hughes, Fields and Stoby as his legacy to Guyana. He enjoyed law,” Nigel asserted.
He said that in 1979, his father headed a team of lawyers to challenge the measures by the then government to change the constitution.
He also described his father as a charmer who was able to quell hostility “in the most adverse of circumstances. My father could have charmed a post…”
Hughes died last Friday, days after celebrating his 77th birthday. He had been ailing for a while.
