Obituary
James A. Hughes, beloved husband, father, relative, and friend, died in March 2024 of complications from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He had just turned 70. Jim was known and loved for his intellect, his athleticism, his passion for sports and sports trivia, his strong moral compass, and his dry sense of humor.
Jim was the youngest of his family of five in Birmingham, Michigan, where he excelled in both sports and academics. Jim also grew up with a large cohort of 21 maternal cousins who remained deeply important to him throughout his life; Jim enjoyed gathering with them at family reunions in the Dayton, Ohio area for many years, including the summer before his death.
Jim also deeply cherished his life-long friendships with childhood sports teammates, high school classmates and teammates, and college and professional connections. Jim relished his ongoing email streams with many of them, tossing around topics ranging from sports to trivia (and especially sports trivia) to humor to politics to music to books to life.
Jim was very proud to have been a member of the Southern Michigan 1965 Little League All Star team, which won the Michigan State Championship. Jim gathered his 1965 team for their 50th reunion in 2015 and shared emails with his Little League teammate group almost daily until his death.
A star baseball pitcher and basketball forward for Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Jim helped organize the 50th reunion of his high school graduating class and had a great time meeting up with his high school classmates and teammates in person again in 2022.
Having expected to attend the University of Michigan, Jim surprised himself by being accepted to Harvard College and then continued on to Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude from both. Jim enjoyed many deep friendships from his college and law school days and remained in nearly daily contact with friends from Cambridge.
After law school graduation Jim started work with the San Francisco law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in 1979. Jim’s career as a litigator with that firm included a six-month stint as an Assistant District Attorney in San Francisco. He became an Orrick partner in 1986.
Jim and his fellow Orrick partner, Bob Sullwold, formed their own law firm, Sullwold & Hughes, in 1995. Their practice concentrated on business litigation, especially the defense of banks, broker-dealers, and investment advisers in securities fraud cases. Their clients included the firms then known as Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. and World Savings; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Oracle Corporation; and the E. & J. Gallo Winery. Sullwold & Hughes celebrated its 25th anniversary in December 2020; Jim and Bob decided to retire during the pandemic and closed the firm in 2022.
Jim also was proud to have done a significant amount of pro bono legal work for Reality House West, which provides housing and other assistance to the elderly, mentally disabled, ex-offenders and other low income persons in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. This work led Jim to become a board member of SF Clean City, a nonprofit that focuses on beautifying the City of San Francisco. Jim remained on that board until his death and enjoyed long friendships with board members and staff.
As an avid sports fan, Jim never lost his childhood loyalties to the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, and Pistons, while later expanding his scope of enthusiasm to encompass the Boston Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics, the Oakland A’s, the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, and the Golden State Warriors. While still healthy he kept in shape by riding his bike up and down the hills near his home in Piedmont, California.
Jim was devoted to his sons Conor and Kevin and to his wife, Beth Lubin Hughes, whom he met in college and with whom he would have celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this summer.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Patricia Hughes (nee Makley) and Arthur Hughes, his sister Kathryn Hughes, his mother-in-law Mary Lubin, and first cousins Barry Connors, Janet Madden, and Tim Flahive.
Besides Beth, Conor, and Kevin, Jim leaves behind his brother Michael Hughes; Conor’s partner Megan La Fleur; Kevin’s partner Jeanra Castro; father-in-law Mike Lubin and his partner Norma Burchard; brother- and sister-in-law Jim Lubin and Dorothy Mockus Lubin; uncles-in-law Jonathan Lubin and Mark King; first cousins Lynn Barron, Barb Connors, Nancy Coate, Joan Darding, Jim Flahive, Mary Flahive, Dan Flahive, Karyn Hecker, Patty Ridenour, Judy Startzell, Terry Stumpf, Bob Walters, Darla Brugger, Susan Makley, and Diana Waag; nephew Sam Lubin; nieces Joan Lubin, Angela Brockelsby, Lorrie Griffith, Dawn Cordone, and Theresa Rose; Norma’s three daughters Pat, Cyndie, and Tracy and their families; as well as many other dear ones among his extended relatives.
If Jim were still with us he would thank all of his family and friends for their love and friendship, precious gifts for which he was deeply grateful.
Photo Gallery
Memorial Donations
For those who have requested donation options, some organizations with special meaning to Jim and his family appear below. However, this isn’t expected. We mostly wish to thank you for simply remembering Jim in your heart.
ALS Network
Forbes Norris ALS Research
Little League Baseball
Acknowledgements may be sent to:
The Hughes Family
141 Hillside Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611
As of one the ‘cousins by the dozens,’ I’ve known Jim his whole life. In childhood, we got together with the Michigan branch during the summer and holidays, and looked forward to those fun times. We didn’t think they were extraordinary then, but now they seem almost magical.
Our family dynamics then were such that compliments were rare; teasing, ribbing, and pranking were much more common. Although we might have known of Jim’s athletic achievements, we wouldn’t have congratulated him on his prowess or successes. But we did razz him about his signature tag line: Jim is a Pro. How true that became in his adult life – but not in the way that he or we imagined.
After graduation, we pursued our careers and lives on different coasts and didn’t get to see each other very often, mostly weddings and funerals. When reading Jim’s obituary and guest book comments, I was struck by how little I knew about his work and other pursuits during those ‘middle years,’ impressive though they were.
We began having family reunions in 2002 and Jim frequently attended despite the long flight. Beth, Conor, and Kevin joined him for a few, and when the boys were older, Jim and Beth made the long, expensive, and tiring trip for our reunions every year. At the reunions, just as in childhood, we often reverted to our pattern of teasing and ribbing each other, possibly with more grace and humor. Like our childhood get-togethers, we didn’t know how fortunate we were to be able to share so many reunion weekends with so many family members. I treasure them now.
I rarely congratulated Jim on his wealth of information, but I enjoyed reading his legal opinions and analyses on Facebook and emails. There’s so much going on in the country today on which I’d love to hear his views. — another of Jim’s many stellar qualities I didn’t fully appreciate.
I eventually came to appreciate Jim’s dry humor and was struck by his ability to show affection – certainly nothing we would have experienced or done in childhood. His love of Beth, Conor, and Kevin was obvious, and the extended family members certainly felt it too.
Rest in peace, Jim
Jim was one of a kind. With all the other things he must have had to do, he made time to serve on the Seaholm reunion committees and was a leader in those as well. I feel fortunate to have gotten to know him better because of his participation. The meetings were always fun and productive and each time we ended up with a great reunion and I ended up with a great friend. I had been aware of Jim since 7th grade but didn’t really connect with him until the 20th reunion. I’m so grateful to have had him in my life. He and Beth took a hike with me around the mall at the 50th reunion to get steps in. I believe we walked 3 miles, covering lots of topics, from which I inevitably learned something new about each one.
I will miss Jim’s wisdom, his wit and his solid advice, when asked. Again, one of a kind. Rest in peace, my friend.
Thank you for this lovely comment, Jennie.
My friend, Jim Hughes—James Arthur Hughes, 1954-2024, lived an exemplary life. I knew him for 65 of the 70 years that he was with us. In kindergarten in Michigan, he and a classmate would create towering castles of building blocks while I watched a few feet away, waiting to slide the foot-long block in my hand to topple it all down. Twelve years later, our graduating class voted him Most Likely to Succeed. A Harvard Magna, he entered Harvard Law and was invited to join Law Review in the same cohort as John Roberts. Through the years, we stayed in touch. He was a reliable correspondent, helping me through a difficult time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa. Though he settled on the West Coast and I on the East Coast, through business trips and class reunions, we managed quite a few in-person visits on both ends of the country over the years. In 1984, I was at his San Francisco wedding and the next year he and Beth came to our Connecticut wedding. My work took me to the Bay Area several times between 1990 and 2010, and I visited them every time. Around the turn of the century, they brought their whole family for a stay with us in Maine. Our last rendezvous, at the time of Beth’s 40th Harvard reunion in 2018, included the two of them plus me and my wife Janet and even my son Rob. The 50th reunion of my high school class took place in September 2022 and Jim presided over the festivities. He was in his prime, and that’s the way I want to picture him forever more—vibrant, engaged, the master of the moment!
What a wonderful remembrance. Thank you, Rick.
Jim and I were classmates in both junior high and high school. He was a standout student and athlete, and always kind. We were marching partners at graduation in 1972, (we were organized by height, not GPA!) and I remember it like it was yesterday. For such a highly intelligent person he seemed to possess a level of common sense that always impressed me. He reached out to me after the death of my older brother and offered kind and funny insights. It meant a lot. Social media, for all its evils, allowed me to reconnect with many people from the past, including Jim. It was always clear how much he cherished his wife and boys. I can only imagine what a wonderful husband and father he must have been. Hopefully that is some comfort to you Beth. He was truly one of the good guys and we were all lucky to know him.
Jim and I met at our 25th Harvard reunion. We did not know each other during college, but we connected immediately. I loved his sense of humor, his knowledge of things far beyond the Law, and his dedication to his family. We became fast friends. And I was so happy to meet Beth a few years ago. Jim and I had spoken of getting together when I planned a trip to SF for March. Alas, it did not happen. Jim will be sorely missed at our 50th Harvard reunion in couple of years!
In 2000 I starting working with Jim and Bob at Sullwold and Hughes as a temp through an agency. Shortly thereafter they hired me from the temp agency and I was part of the Sullwold and Hughes team. I distinctly remember Jim asking me if I was comfortable with all of their peccadillos before I became a permanent employee. From the sentence I knew what he meant, but even as an English Lit major it was not a word I had come across before. I know I was only a small part of both Jim’s and Bob’s lives and careers and they were such a huge part of my life. I had a complicated work past, the first attorney I worked for was disbarred and I had to appear in front of the New York Bar association and testify at one of his hearings. After that I worked for my parents – if you’ve ever done that you probably know it’s not always a good idea. In 1999 I moved from New York to California and the next year I found myself working for two of the best humans I have ever met Jim Hughes & Bob Sullwold. I don’t have words to describe how great my time was with Sullwold and Hughes and I can describe how I felt. I specifically remember walking through the door in the morning coming into the office and leaving the suite door in the evening with a feeling of satisfaction for my job and happiness to be in that job. I didn’t have that feeling every day but I had it more times during my tenure with Sullwold and Hughes than at any other job. Today my husband and I attended Jim’s memorial at his home in Piedmont. And I was lucky enough to sit with Bob and share memories and catch up with each other and share laughs. My husband said later the two of us were like two peas in a pod chatting and laughing and for a time Jim, Bob and I were three peas in a pod in a suite in the Russ Building in San Francisco.
I worked for Jim as a junior associate at Orrick and during the early days of Sullwold and Hughes. He was a lawyer and man of great talent, humor, warmth and humility, qualities that he wore lightly and unassumingly. I remember his deep commitment to his clients, including longstanding pro bono clients, and his sense of fun, like when he refereed a summer associate 1-on-1 basketball grudge match between a former Cal varsity women’s player and her inexperienced but strangely confident male office-mate (result as expected).
It was a great pleasure to know him and a privilege to work for him.
I knew Jim from the seventh grade through High School. Jim was an unusual combination of things; He was honest and fair, with high standards and expectations for himself. Jim did not do things half-way. Jim was a natural leader with a quick and sarcastic sense of humor. Jim was caring – and had a common touch that contrasted with his toughness and competitiveness. In all the years that I coached High School basketball I don’t think I ever came across someone like him. Jim was a great teammate and friend who brought out the best in others, especially me – his memory will always be with me.
I knew Jim through participation in youth sports, including a magical 1965 summer when we won the Michigan State Little League Championship. Being part of an athletic team, a part of a diverse group of personalities ideally united towards a common goal, is one of life’s profound experiences. There was no better teammate than Jim Hughes. As sports imitates life Jim played with great skill and modest determination, but it was his sportsmanship that stood out. And wonderful wit & humor! For all his qualities, that huge intellect and skill, Jim was foremost a kind man. There was a sense of deep purpose to him. Through divine circumstance a small group who played on teams with Jim were reunited a half century of adult years later for what became an ongoing 12 year email string. Jim’s precise insights & beautiful mind, tempered by his dry wit and self-effacing levity, were a sweet science unto itself. Jim never let on to the breadth of his accomplishments (Harvard Law for crying out loud!) – he came across as one of the guys but you quickly knew this was an extraordinary person, a poet really in the way he expressed himself, with classical sportsmanship. I miss him a lot, a Diamond I Have Known And Loved.
We are sorry to miss the celebration of Jim’s life. Thinking back on the years we have known each other, I fondly remember many September weekends when Orrick attorneys gathered at Silverado. Wine tasting, touring, dinner and dancing were always on the agenda. New Year’s Eve dinners at Bob and Jane Sullwold’s continued our connection. Jim’s sense of humor and approach to life along with his wonderful smile will always be with me.
Hello, everyone. We (Jim’s family) hope that you will use this Guest Book for your thoughts and memories of your times with Jim. Thank you for sharing your stories with us and with the others who knew and loved him.