John Hughes

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former editor of the Christian Science Monitor and Deseret News, Robert “John” Hughes died peacefully at the age of 92 on December 14, 2022, in his Provo, Utah home.

John was born in Neath, Wales on April 28, 1930, to Evan John Hughes and Dellis May Williams. Raised in London during World War II, he experienced Nazi bombings first-hand as a boy. He developed an early love for journalism, and at the age of 16, started his first job as a reporter at the Natal Mercury in South Africa, where his family moved following the war. This passion for journalism and world affairs took him around the globe throughout his career and life, from Africa to the United States, and Asia; later becoming a naturalized American citizen.

John won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1967 for his coverage of the attempted communist coup in Indonesia, and the Overseas Press Club award for best international reporting, covering narcotics trafficking in the 1960’s.

Throughout his remarkable career, John worked as the editor of the Christian Science Monitor, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, State Department Spokesman, Director of Voice of America, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Harvard University Nieman Fellow, Editor of the Deseret News, owner and operator of several newspapers in Maine and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and was a tenured professor at Brigham Young University.

He was a great lover of dogs and all things Welsh, and the author of multiple books, including The New Face of Africa, Indonesian Upheaval, The End of Sukarno, and Paper Boy to Pulitzer.

John loved spending time with loved ones, telling stories of his childhood, and discussing world affairs. He enjoyed traveling, particularly visiting his family in Massachusetts, and spending time in Maine, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and St. George, Utah. John was a loving husband and father, and despite his tenacious work ethic, rarely missed his children’s sporting events, recitals, or other milestones.

John is survived by Peggy, his loving wife of 34 years, his daughter Wendy of Massachusetts, sons Evan and Mark of Utah and New Hampshire, his loving extended family, and eight grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on December 30, 2022, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse, located at 925 E North Temple Drive, Provo, UT 84604.

Interment will be at the Preston, Idaho city cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in the name of “John Hughes” to Best Friends Animal Society.