James Hollis Hughes, age 91, of Warrior, Alabama, went home to be with his Lord on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2019.  He was born on February 25, 1928, on a farm near Morris, Alabama.  He was the youngest of four sons born to Odus and Agnes Hughes.  He graduated from Mortimer Jordan High School, Athens State University and Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.  He married his first wife Janett, whom he met in college, in 1950.  He was her sole caregiver at home for approximately ten years before her death in 2001.  He met his second wife, Lera, at her office where she typed and edited the manuscript for the first of his four books.

He was born the year before the Crash of 1929 and his early childhood years occurred during the Great Depression.  After graduating from college, he attained his Master's Degree from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.  He was a longtime teacher and guidance counselor at Corner High School and taught psychology at Wallace State Community College.  Over his career, he had the opportunity to aid and counsel thousands of students. Hollis was a lifelong teacher and sought ways to help people well into retirement.  He was an avid fisherman, horticulturalist and an accomplished author.  He loved being outdoors.  Many vacations were spent in the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  These trips fostered his appreciation for rhododendrons and flame azaleas.  He was the founder and owner of Hughes Rhododendron Nursery and was a member of the American Rhododendron Society.  Of all of the fish he caught over the years, his favorite was a 56 pound King Salmon he caught on the Kenai River in Alaska.  He authored four books including "Mindful of Him" (Psalm 8) and "The Lingering Cloud".  Hollis was a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Warrior.

Hollis was preceded in death by his wife, Janett Patterson Hughes; father, Odus Hughes; and mother, Agnes Owen Hughes.  He is survived by his wife, Lera Hughes; sons, John Patrick Hughes (Angela), Richard Owen Hughes (Katie); grandson, Luke Christopher Hughes and stepdaughter Lisa Hayes (John).

Visitation will be on Tuesday, December 3, from 5:00 - 8:00 at Messmer Goodwin Funeral Home in Warrior, Alabama.  The funeral will be on Wednesday, December 4, at 2:00, at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Warrior, with burial following at Mount Zion Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mount Zion Baptist Church.  The family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at UAB Hospital Acute Trauma Care Unit, Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital and the Palliative Care Unit at UAB Hospital for their compassionate care over the past days.