Hughes, Merle C., 80, Mapleton; in Mapleton, May 8, 2008. A memorial service will be conducted at the Mapleton United Methodist Church on Thursday, May 15, 2008, at 1 p.m. Relatives and friends may call at the church from 12 noon until the time of service. Interment will be at the Worth Grendell Cemetery in Chapman. Arrangements are in the care of Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, Presque Isle.
Mapleton – Merle C. Hughes, 80, died peacefully with his family by his side on May 8, 2008, at a local hospital. Merle was born July 7, 1927, in Mapleton the son of Lorestin and Dora (Wyman) Hughes. 
He attended Mapleton schools and served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1947. After being discharged from the Navy, he graduated from the Aroostook School of Commerce in Presque Isle. He worked as a bookkeeper for a few years, then was employed by Maine Public Service Co. for 33 years. Merle loved fishing, softball, bowling, horse racing, golf and baseball. He also loved his grandchildren and great- grandchildren a lot. He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Mapleton. He served on and chaired many of the committees of the church. He also loved helping with community luncheons on Fridays. Merle was a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternal lodge in Mapleton, working through all the offices of the local and state lodges. He was a Supreme Representative and attended Supreme Lodge Conventions in Boston and Las Vegas.
He was a member of the Colonel Brewer Lodge in Brewer, ME. Merle married Barbara Grendell in 1948 and they have three children, Darla Anderson, Vicki Kinney and her husband Ray, and Scott Hughes and his wife Fonda all of Mapleton; three grandchildren, Mathew Patterson, Mia Akeley and her husband Adam, and Nicolas Hughes; two step- grandchildren, Brooke and Ryan Sperrey; two great-grandsons Gavin and Logan Akeley; one step-great grandchild, Hunter Clark; a brother, Carl and his wife Lillian of Florida; a sister-in-law, Jean Condon of Alabama; a brother-in-law, Ron Grendell and his wife, Viv of Nashville,Tenn.; a sister-in-law, Gertie Oaks of Presque Isle; a step-grandson Roland Kinney; a foster granddaughter, Debra Boring and a foster great-granddaughter, Holly Boring both of Virginia, as well as several nieces and nephews. Besides his parents he was predeceased by four sisters, two brothers, a sister-in-law and her husband and a granddaughter, Amy Marie Hughes.
A memorial service will be conducted at the Mapleton United Methodist Church on Thursday, May 15th at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Dot Matson officiating. Relatives and friends may call at the church from 12 noon until the time of the service. Refreshments and fellowship will immediately follow in the dinning room of the church. Interment will be in the Worth Grendell Cemetery in Chapman. Those who wish may make gifts in his memory to the United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 208, Mapleton, ME 04757. Arrangements are in the care of the Duncan-Graves Funeral Home in Presque Isle. Condolences may be made at www.duncan-graves.com.
