Wycherley Gumbs and Rev. Menes Hodge
Brian’s earthly remains rested – in his casket – sporting a straw in his mouth and wearing informal, but neat, apparel – two traits of his lifetime public appearance – in the presence of throngs of people at the Service of Thanksgiving.
To crown it all, on top the casket of the late Brian Allen Hughes was an effigy of a multi-storey building. At a glance it told the story of the hardworking, successful and high quality Anguillian building contractor he had been during a sizeable portion of his forty years of age.
People from all walks of life, across Anguilla, were at the funeral on Saturday, January 3, on the expansive ball field at Sandy Ground. They were joined by official delegations from St Martin/St Maarten in support of Brian’s parents, Anguilla’s Chief Minister, Hubert Hughes, and Mrs Norma Hughes, and the entire Hughes’ family. Estimates put the number of attendees at over one thousand.
Brian collapsed at a construction site at Meads Bay on December 17, 2014, and was later pronounced dead at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. His sudden passing forced the abrupt adjournment of the budget debate of the Anguilla House of Assembly where the Chief Minister Hughes is the Leader of Government Business; and Brian’s brother, Haydn, is First Nominated Member and Parliamentary Secretary.
The Order of Service included a short period of tributes, followed by Opening Prayers by Rev Dr Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent Minister of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit. The homily was delivered by Rev John A Gumbs, Methodist Supernumerary Minister and family friend. In a personal exhortation he encouraged young men to follow the late contractor’s passion for quality and quickness of work, generosity and other admirable characteristics. Pastor Hugo Brooks of the World Harvest Church and Chaplin of the House of Assembly; and Rev Menes Hodge, of the Anglican Church, also officiated at the service.
Earlier, there were seven other deliveries at the service: Scripture readings by Ms T’arah Niles, Ms Marsha Edwards and Mr Ralph Hodge; a tribute by the Youth Choir of the Maranatha Methodist Church at Blowing Point; a hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” sung by the Hughes’ family; a short address by Chief Minister Hughes who spoke about the birth and upbringing of Brian and expressed thanks to all persons for their condolences and support; and the Eulogy by Mr Haydn Hughes.
In that Eulogy, Haydn spoke about his brother’s way of life, kindness, outstanding ability and commitment as a building contractor, and other personal and endearing qualities. He described Brian as not only having been his brother, but also his friend and immediate neighbour.
The text of the Eulogy is printed below.
EULOGY FOR BRIAN HUGHES
By: Hon. Haydn A. F. Hughes
“Brian Allen Hughes was born on July 7th, 1974 to the Hon. Hubert and Tr. Norma Hughes of South Hill, Anguilla. He was the second of three children.
“When he was born, he was a small, sickly child and Nurse Bun, (Bernice Lewis) nicknamed him ‘Sprat’. So for much of his youth, we called him Sprat. Eventually, the Sprat grew into a big man.
“As a child, Brian was afflicted with asthma and rheumatoid arthritis which necessitated frequent visits to doctors and stays in the hospitals in Anguilla, St. Kitts and Barbados. Eventually, he outgrew these afflictions and became a pretty good athlete. He was a member of the island soccer team and also a MVP in the local Basketball tournament mostly because he never saw a bad shot. He scored the most points that year but we lost every game. He prized that trophy and it is proudly displayed as you entered his home. He was even a member of the Anguilla Cycling Association and had a passion for sports but more than anything else, he had a passion for design and interior decorating. So much so that he almost only watched HGTV.
“Brian had some really close friends while at high school that were seemingly inseparable. Valdez Johnson, Ardel Joseph, McMillan Thomas, Verne Carty, Ruel Connor and Lofton Carty to name a few. He was known as a clown and could make a joke out of everything and every situation and could never be found without a straw in his mouth. I would often tell him that he should be a standup comedian. One of his favourite jokes was about the three of us. I am not the best comedian but it went along these lines, “You Haydn; mama and daddy were playing around and they got you by accident. They planned me but then mama wanted a girl and they went again and Greig came. He wore pink girl clothes for months until they could afford boy clothes so I am the only planned child!” Our father would frequently pull the straw out of his mouth as a child and he would somehow find another. We do not know where he picked that up from but it continued right up until his passing.
Brian Allen Hughes
“After Brian left high school, he went to work at the Marinas hotel. He loved working there and the staff, management and guest of the hotel loved Brian. Eventually, he left and started driving heavy equipment, a job he never really liked but what Brian really liked was nice things. He always liked nice things. Our mother would often say to him, “you have champagne tastes with a mauby pocket!” but that love of nice things evolved into a passion and an eye for detail and finishes.
“I recalled when our uncle died and left Brian a few dollars that was not even enough today to purchase a used Japanese car. To him, it was like wining the lotto. He went out and placed a down payment on a BMW. When I found out, I went to speak to him and I used a tone that I cannot use here today. Needless to say, he took the money back and decided to heed my advice and purchase blocks, sand, steel and cement instead. He eventually over the next few years, built himself a very nice house. His attention to detail was manifested in his home. Everything was ‘perfect’ and many would tease him about his feminine side.
“Brian was talented and a hard, hard worker. That work ethic that was instilled him from a child on up manifested itself in every project that he took on. One of those projects was the construction of Greig’s office and apartments in South Hill. Brian built that in record time and he himself was not paid. He said this would be his advertisement and his work will get him work. His motto was, “let your work get you work!” He was all about productivity.
“He went on to build many private homes and eventually, Dr. Delroy Louden gave him the opportunity to build Topaz villa which was his first foray into the hospitality construction sector. He also constructed Mingz supermarket and during that time is when he showed how quickly he could build and impressed many passersby all the while paying himself less than he paid his workers. He was always trying to break records in construction and was proud of his work. He went to build the main building at Ce Bleu and eventually, Ananya Villas and was hired to construct Zemi Beach Resort. It was months later that the ownership found out that he was the son of the Hon. Chief Minister, Mr. Hubert Hughes.
“Brian was neither greedy nor selfish. Everyone who reached out, he did everything he could to help. His relationship with his employees was very unorthodox in that he treated them as his equals. Many of whom were paid more than he paid himself. He would always ask, “how much do I really need?” and answer the same question by saying, “as long as I can keep my lights on, pay my cell and cable bills and buy food, I’m good!”
“This sort of philosophy prompted our father to urge Brian to do something for himself and finally, in December of 2013, he started an apartment adjacent to his home and by the beginning of March, it was furnished. He was proud of the speed in which he did it and again, the attention to detail was found throughout the building. He never believed in putting off for tomorrow what could be done today. He encouraged and lifted so many people up along his short journey on this earth.
“Never a dull moment with Brian. He knew how to have fun. In his words, ‘work hard, play hard. He would be the life of the party and knew how to have a good time even though we have never seen him dance. I always told people that in another life, I would like to live like Brian because he kept it real. He was unpretentious. He was who he was, low keyed and loving. He loved his son Quashee and he supported him in everything from his cycling endeavors to his schoolwork.
“The one thing he didn’t want him doing was motorcycles so he bought him a car to keep him away from them. He was generous and this generosity is known throughout the island from Island Harbour to West End. Brian Hughes Construction was associated with every single event that occurred on the island because he believed in giving but he never wanted gifts and didn’t even celebrate his own birthdays.
“He spent a lot of time in the Dominicano Community. I asked him one day why was that so? He said, “Spanish people are happy people. They do not need a lot and they are still happy. I like to be around happy people”. No podía hablar español, pero sin embargo se sentía como en casa con la comunidad de habla española. Él los amaba y que lo amaba. Brian could speak no Spanish.
“His second son, Kalifa Hughes was born on December 24th, 2013 and celebrated his first birthday this Christmas eve but he will grew up to learn about the wonderful and generous man his father was. Quashee, you have big shoes to fill. Brian will be sorely missed. His home was saddled between Greig and I and every day, we will be reminded that he is no longer physically with us. His friends who are way too much to mention too will miss him as his home became a meeting place for so many of them and they will remember all the pool parties Brian allowed at his home sometimes, to strangers. To understand the relationship between us one must also understand that Brian was not only my brother but he was my friend and immediate neighbor.
“Brian was an analytical thinker and a hard worker. His mind would work over time. So much so that as tired as he would be from his long hard days, he could hardly sleep at night. He would wake very, very early in the morning and send out greetings to people while mulling on things to do. Even his doctor told him he needed to rest. In the months leading up to his final rest, he was asked to do so.
“He said that he would take some time off to rest on December 18th but God decided that it was time for him to take that rest and on the early afternoon of December 17th 2014, while joking around with his employees and in the presence of our youngest brother Greig, that big heart of Brian finally stopped and my brother….our brother is now finally able to Rest in Peace.”
(The eulogy is published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
