Obituary: Kathryn Eloise Hughes (1926-2025)
Kathryn Eloise Hughes, age 99, passed from this life on August 30, 2025, at the Mount Ayr Health Care Center in Mount Ayr, Iowa. She was born on April 3, 1926, in Decatur County, Iowa, the daughter of Alvie Daniel and Louie Sindia Evelyn (Bronson) Durell.
Kathryn grew up with her siblings and attended country school. She graduated from Leon High School in 1944, then moved to Des Moines, Iowa where she worked at Principal Insurance in the actuary department. She later moved back to Leon and married Hollie Everett Hughes. They were blessed with four children, Patricia Kay, who died in infancy, Diana, Dennis, and Peggy. They were married 35 years before their divorce.
Kathryn worked nights as a nurse’s aide at the Decatur County Hospital. She was a ward clerk when she retired. In retirement, Kathryn loved to travel with her sister, Pauline. They went on many bus trips. They attended the Iowa State Fair, Branson, Missouri, and many local craft shows and events. She attended family gatherings and usually took corn casserole. She always offered her guests a meal or at least a snack. She made popcorn balls for Halloween until she was 97 years old while still living alone in her Leon, Iowa home. She also loved to bake. In warm weather sitting on her porch was a favorite pastime. She enjoyed collecting Coca Cola memorabilia and Cabbage Patch dolls.
Kathryn was an independent, determined woman. She was also very gracious and thankful for anything done for her. She and her family appreciated all the help from her Leon neighbors, Junior and Karen Jennings. She really enjoyed her daily visits from granddaughter-in-law, Amy Novak, while in the Care Center.
Preceding her in death were her parents; daughter, Patricia Kay Hughes; and her siblings and their spouses, Helen & Earl Nussbaum, Pauline & Richard Baker, Marjorie & Richard Carson, and Jim & Barb Durell; and brother, Billy Leon Durell, in childhood.
Those surviving include her children, Diana Hughes of Collinsville, Oklahoma, Dennis Hughes of Leon, Iowa, and Peggy Ballard and husband, Mickey, of Dewey, Oklahoma; eight grandchildren, Jeremy & Amy Novak, Amy & Jeff Finney, Tracy & Cody Harper, Travis & Linessa Hughes, Todd & Chelsie Hughes, Heidi & Rusty Hicks, Hillary Weir, and Holly & Andrew Rash; many great grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends.
A memorial service will be held at the Slade – O’Donnell Funeral Home in Leon, Iowa at 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 9, 2025, with Carol Saxton officiating. Burial will follow in the Leon Cemetery, Leon, Iowa.
Memorials will be donated to glaucoma research.
