Mary M. Hughes, 88, of Seneca, Kansas, died Saturday, May 12, 2012 at Crestview Manor care home in Seneca.

She was born May 14, 1923, on a farm northwest of St. Bridget, Kansas, the daughter of James T. and Mary D. McClary Cunningham. She attended Summerfield High School for two years and graduated from Beattie High School in 1942. She moved with her family to Frankfort, Kansas, where she did domestic work and helped families with newborn babies.

On July 29, 1943, she joined the U.S. Navy and became a WAVE. After taking training at Hunter College in New York, she worked in the Quartermaster Naval Code and Signal Lab. Later she was stationed in Washington, D.C. and was discharged as a Second Class Quartermaster on December 5, 1945. She then moved to Kansas City, MO and worked as a clerk at Smith’s Drug Store for several years and at Montgomery Ward. She had also been employed by Reiness Paper Mill in Hoquiam, WA. When she returned to Kansas City, she worked for Russell Stover’s for 17 years in sales, in the factory, and managed a store.

On June 27, 1964, she married Robert E. Hughes at Holy Cross Church in Kansas City, Missouri. They lived in Kansas City, Kansas until they moved to Seneca, Kansas in April of 1998. Her husband Bob preceded her in death on September 24, 2004.

She was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and St. Ann’s Altar Society at the church in Seneca. She was a former member of Christ the King Church in Kansas City, Kansas. She was also a member of the Nocturnal Adoration Society and the American Legion Post #21 in Seneca.

Survivors are her daughter Catherine Ginger of Kansas City, Kansas; two sisters, Theresa Linville of Seneca and Freda Files of Irvine, California; a granddaughter, Brandi Ginger of Kansas City, Kansas; a grandson, Sam Miller, Edwardsville, Kansas and his wife Renee, and two great-grandsons, Talen and Torin Miller.

Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by five brothers, Robert, Francis, Edward, Joseph and Jerry Cunningham; and one sister, Rose Norvell.

Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 AM Monday, May 14, at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A rosary will be prayed at 7 PM Sunday, May 13, at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.