LEWISTON – Albert W. (“Beau”) Hughes, 91, of the West Auburn Road, Auburn, died Saturday, May 6, at Central Maine Medical Center. In vigororous health to the end, he complained of chest pain, was admitted to the hospital and experienced sudden heart failure a few hours later.

He was born Dec. 10, 1914, in Cedar Grove, N.C., the son of the late Dr. and Mrs. Claude Murray Hughes. He grew up in North Carolina, then lived in Atlanta, where he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, then moved to Chicago, from which he traveled for The Coca-Cola Co.

He moved to Maine in 1941, serving in managerial positions for the Coca-Cola Bottling Plants Inc. in Portland, Sanford, and then Auburn, arriving in 1949 to manage the Lewiston plant. He retired from that firm as executive vice president in 1978.

His total career, first with The Coca-Cola Co. and then the bottling operations in Maine, spanned 42 years and took him to many parts of the United States. In Lewiston-Auburn, he was a member of the High Street Congregational Church and former member of the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club. He once chaired the Lewiston-Auburn United Way campaign and the Auburn Urban Renewal Authority.

He was a passionate outdoorsman, hunting and fishing all his life from early boyhood in North Carolina to the present. Highlights were twice annual fishing trips to the Allagash region and to Moosehead Lake, and deer hunting in the Buckfield area, all with his wide circle of friends. At retirement, he added golf to his life. He was a member of Martindale Country Club, and played as recently as last week.

In 1934, he married Edith Bivins of Hillsborough, N.C. They were happily married for 54 years, until her death in 1988.

Two sons of that marriage survive him, Albert W. “Nick” Hughes Jr. who with his wife, Janice Tufts Hughes, lives in Atlanta, Ga., and Stephen T. Hughes of New York City; granddaughter, Kathleen Hughes Danforth and husband, David, live in Marietta, Ga., with sons, David and Cody Clegg and grandson, Thomas Scott Hughes and wife, Laura, live in Ballwin, Mo., with children Sarah, Taylor and Zachary.

In 1995, he. married the former Marion E. Cutter, who survives him, along with stepchildren, David (and Kathy) Cutter of Auburn, Sandy (and John) Shaw of Camden, Paul (and Jan) Cutter of Turner, and Michael and Paula Cutter of Kennebunk and Auburn, all of Maine; together with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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