Alan Hughes did things the hard way. Not just because he was stubborn or hard-headed - there are other who could speak to that better than I. He did things the hard way because he believed in a greater good. A higher purpose. Alan (and Marilyn, these words are for you too) made choices that the whole world questioned. He had eight kids. He homeschooled them. He worked as hard as any man I knew growing up - harder than most. He made decisions that were called into question by friends, family - and I reckon, even he questioned his choices some days. But he kept on. He never quit. When Alan finally retired and began to look forward to some easier days, his body called it off. From the outside looking in, it would be easy to say that he didn’t get to enjoy his life, that he never got a break. But when Alan left this world, he was at peace. I think that’s because he knew that success doesn’t equal ease, or comfort, or even joy. Purpose isn’t easy. Alan accomplished the higher call that was put on him.

He left behind a sea of souls who are making this world better. His eight kids are world changers. They’ve served in our armed forces and work in medicine, in law enforcement, allowing Alan to continue touching lives in exponential ways I don’t think even he imagined. Those kids now have their own kids who are strong and smart like their grandpa and are making impacts he never planned. Alan has sons and daughters-in-law to carry his torch. He has friends who learned from him that a good wool shirt is plenty formal enough for church and that questionable choices might end up being the best ones.

Alan left this life in the same way that he lived it: fearlessly. He did the hard things, and when, more than once, life asked him to regroup and start over, Alan owned up and did it, modeling humility and the ability to change for his kids and all the rest of us. There is no doubt in my mind that when Alan moved on to the other side, he heard the words “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant. Welcome to retirement.”