Phyllis Josephine Hughes
March 7, 1912 — April 17, 2005
Phyllis Josephine Hughes, JD, 93, of Manchester, died Sunday, April 17, 2005 in Winthrop following a courageous battle with cancer.
Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Masonville by Rev. Ivan Nienhaus, Rev. Aloysius Vorwald and Rev. Brian Hughes. Friends may call from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Manchester and after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Immaculate Conception. The Rosary will be recited at 4:00 p.m. with a Vigil Scripture Service at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Mary?s Catholic Cemetery, Manchester.
Phyllis Josephine was born on March 7, 1912, the only child of Edward M. and Elizabeth (Rowe) Hughes in The Dalles, Oregon. She attended school in Manchester, then at Sisters of the Visitation Academy in Dubuque. At age 13, she entered Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, WI and began her undergraduate studies. Phyllis graduated with a combined bachelor?s and juris doctor degree when she was 23. The day after graduation in 1935, she began practicing law in Milwaukee. Her career took her to New York, Washington D.C. and Europe. Her negotiating abilities, combined with her downright gumption and tenacity, allowed her to secure war-time contracts with the government and Maritime Commission on behalf of her clients. She was pursued by Curtis-Wright in New York to establish and head its contract-termination department. She established the Foreign Law Department at Starr Interests in New York. From 1947 to 1949, the government sent Phyllis to post-war Germany to help establish its Constitution and set up legal procedures for appellate courts. She returned to Starr Interests until 1950, when she returned home to Iowa following her mother?s death. Phyllis assisted her father as co-owner of the E.M. Hughes Dry Goods & Bridal Store, continuing her legal work at night. Since 1983, Phyllis has volunteered her time helping distressed farmers with their legal needs, earning her honor from Pope John Paul II.
Phyllis was an active member of St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Manchester. She was a 30-year member of the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce and a Rotary-Ann of Rotary International. For three years, she served as industrial education director of the American Cancer Society. Phyllis was responsible for the placement of Life Systems in the Delaware County Memorial Hospital. She was a 75-year member of the Democratic Party; and in the last 50 years, had not missed a county, district, or state Democratic Convention. She was a long-time member of the General Federation of Women?s Clubs, National Council of Catholic Women and Catholic Daughters of America. Phyllis designed and presented the "Tribute to Iowa Women: Past, Present, and Future? bronze medallion as a gift from the women of Iowa during the state?s sesquicentennial. In 2001, Phyllis was inducted into the Iowa Women?s Hall of Fame. Phyllis was a noted attorney, lecturer and writer.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, E.M. & Elizabeth Hughes.
Memorials may be directed to St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Manchester.
Please sign our online guestbook for Phyllis at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Masonville by Rev. Ivan Nienhaus, Rev. Aloysius Vorwald and Rev. Brian Hughes. Friends may call from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Manchester and after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Immaculate Conception. The Rosary will be recited at 4:00 p.m. with a Vigil Scripture Service at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Mary?s Catholic Cemetery, Manchester.
Phyllis Josephine was born on March 7, 1912, the only child of Edward M. and Elizabeth (Rowe) Hughes in The Dalles, Oregon. She attended school in Manchester, then at Sisters of the Visitation Academy in Dubuque. At age 13, she entered Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, WI and began her undergraduate studies. Phyllis graduated with a combined bachelor?s and juris doctor degree when she was 23. The day after graduation in 1935, she began practicing law in Milwaukee. Her career took her to New York, Washington D.C. and Europe. Her negotiating abilities, combined with her downright gumption and tenacity, allowed her to secure war-time contracts with the government and Maritime Commission on behalf of her clients. She was pursued by Curtis-Wright in New York to establish and head its contract-termination department. She established the Foreign Law Department at Starr Interests in New York. From 1947 to 1949, the government sent Phyllis to post-war Germany to help establish its Constitution and set up legal procedures for appellate courts. She returned to Starr Interests until 1950, when she returned home to Iowa following her mother?s death. Phyllis assisted her father as co-owner of the E.M. Hughes Dry Goods & Bridal Store, continuing her legal work at night. Since 1983, Phyllis has volunteered her time helping distressed farmers with their legal needs, earning her honor from Pope John Paul II.
Phyllis was an active member of St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Manchester. She was a 30-year member of the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce and a Rotary-Ann of Rotary International. For three years, she served as industrial education director of the American Cancer Society. Phyllis was responsible for the placement of Life Systems in the Delaware County Memorial Hospital. She was a 75-year member of the Democratic Party; and in the last 50 years, had not missed a county, district, or state Democratic Convention. She was a long-time member of the General Federation of Women?s Clubs, National Council of Catholic Women and Catholic Daughters of America. Phyllis designed and presented the "Tribute to Iowa Women: Past, Present, and Future? bronze medallion as a gift from the women of Iowa during the state?s sesquicentennial. In 2001, Phyllis was inducted into the Iowa Women?s Hall of Fame. Phyllis was a noted attorney, lecturer and writer.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, E.M. & Elizabeth Hughes.
Memorials may be directed to St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Manchester.
Please sign our online guestbook for Phyllis at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
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