 HUGHES, CLINTON D. Clinton D. Hughes lived most of his 84 years in New Mexico. "This is my country," he often said to describe his sense of belonging to the mountains he skied, the streams he fly-fished, and the fields where he hunted game birds. Though he retired his skis at age 75, in his dreams he never stopped taking the pitches of Longhorn, his favorite run at Taos Ski Valley. And in his last years, when he no longer walked fields to flush out quail and pheasant or the riverbanks for fish, he tied flies to lure the canniest of trout. A farm boy from Kansas, Clint Hughes became a small animal veterinarian. Married in 1952, he and his wife Jo Ellyn moved to Alamogordo in 1954, where, as a Captain in the United States Air Force, he managed the Aero Medical Field Laboratory at Holloman Air Force Base conducting studies of high speed on monkeys, pigs, and chimpanzees to prepare for man's travel to outer space. In 1956, The Journal of Aviation Medicine published his study, and not long after, he and Jo settled in Albuquerque to open his veterinary practice specializing in orthopedic surgery. For 26 years, he treated an exotic spectrum of animals from mice to lions. His favorite: sporting dogs. When he retired from animal medicine, New Mexico's higher elevations beckoned. Santa Fe became home. His academic accomplishments include a Bachelor and Master of Science and a Doctorate of Veterinary Science from Kansas State University (1953), where he was a member of Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Delta. He completed his residency in surgery at University of Pennsylvania (1954). Over a span of 30 years, he served as Co-Chairman of the American Association of Colleges - Kansas State University, President of Bernalillo County Veterinary Association, and Director of American Animal Hospital Association. He was a member of the New Mexico Veterinary Association, American Veterinary Radiology Society, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Academy of Veterinary Practice. He was appointed to the Veterinary Examiners Board in 1967 and served as its president for five years. He is survived by his wife Jo; daughter Debra, her husband Gary; and grandsons Austin and Merritt. Clint was born in Mulberry, Kansas to Agnes and Lewis Larkin Hughes on January 9, 1930. On January 1, 2015, at 4:30 a.m., he died in Santa Fe after a bold struggle with Alzheimer's. The family celebrated his life in a private gathering at home. Contributions to the Clinton D. Hughes Memorial Fund may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association at the following link: act.alz.org/goto/ClintonDHughes Berardinelli Family Funeral Service 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 984-8600 Please sign our guestbook for the family at: www.berardinellifuneralhome.com
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