Roger Allan Hughes

Roger Allan Hughes, 82, of Urbandale, Iowa, passed away on Wednesday March 4th, 2026. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 14th, 1943 to Richard and Eleanor (St. Germain) Hughes, and was the second of five children. The family briefly lived in Chicago during his childhood, but they soon returned to Sioux City and he graduated from Central High School in 1961.

Roger demonstrated considerable musical talent in his youth and always regretted stopping the violin at age 12, but he soon picked up guitar and started developing his skill on the instrument as a teenager, becoming an accomplished player. While singing and playing regularly with rock bands, Roger graduated from the University of Iowa in 1965 with a B.A. in English and in 1967 with an M.A. in teaching English as a second language. There he participated in the famous Writer's Workshop; writing would play a large role in his career.

Shortly after leaving the university Roger taught a Short Stories class at Estherville Junior College in Northwest Iowa, and it was there he met Barbara Knox, one of his students. They became close, and soon thereafter Roger was drafted into the U.S. Army. While stationed in Berlin, Germany for two years, Roger edited the base newspaper, The Berlin Observer, and kept up romantic correspondence with Barbara. They were married September 5th, 1971, in a humble ceremony that took place in Barbara's parents' back yard, with watermelon in lieu of wedding cake.

In the years before their marriage and for a while after, Roger was primarily a gigging rock musician and had some success in that regard, recording for the RCA and Mercury labels in the 1960s and 70s. Roger and Barbara moved to Cape Cod after their marriage, then Jacksonville, Florida, in accordance with Roger's musical projects. Eventually he decided to embark on a more stable career path, beginning with his enrollment in graduate school at Indiana University (Bloomington), where he received his PhD in Philosophy of Education in 1978, focusing on the principles and strategies of futurism.

Roger's first "real job" was Alumni Director at the University of Wisconsin in Lacrosse, quickly followed by a position that would begin to establish his career in philanthropy and nonprofit management: President of the Iowa College Foundation in Des Moines. During these years in Lacrosse and Des Moines, their son and daughter were born. In 1987 Roger was offered a position as the director of the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust in Muscatine, Iowa. While in Muscatine, Roger became very active in the community, volunteering for programs such as Meals on Wheels and even significantly participated as a congregant at Faith United Church of Christ, despite the fact that he was never particularly religious. All the while, Roger continued his passion for music, spending considerable time and expense with his own home recording studio. He produced a number of albums of original material that can now be found on iTunes and similar platforms, performing all of the singing and instrumentation by himself.

In 1995 Roger landed the most significant position of his career as the CEO of St. Luke's Health Initiatives in Phoenix, Arizona, a public foundation with a focus on health policy and community development. While there, he authored over 80 reports on healthcare topics, taught graduate courses in Arizona State University's School of Public Policy, and received top leadership awards from various Arizona healthcare and social advocacy organizations. He continued his musical and community activities while residing in Scottsdale, Arizona until he retired from St. Luke's in 2012. Roger and Barbara then moved back to Iowa to be closer to family.

Roger was a true renaissance man, highly intelligent, and had a quick wit. He wrote short stories and novels in addition to policy papers, and loved to debate and challenge others intellectually. He said once that one should not have a philosophy of life, but a life of philosophy. Roger was a contrarian at heart and could be rather cantankerous, but beneath it all he had a heart of gold and truly wanted to improve the world through his work, whatever that work was. He lived a fairly quiet life after retirement but still kept himself occupied with reading, writing, and keeping in touch with his colleagues. He also volunteered teaching English to refugees upon returning to Iowa, work that he had started while in Arizona. Besides all the musical recordings Roger left behind, his legacy as a musician was recognized by his induction into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two separate occasions.

Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Eleanor Hughes, and his older sister Carol Funk. He will sorely be missed by those that survive him: his wife Barbara, children David (William Lim) and Suzanne Hughes Coyle (Andrew), grandson Wyatt Coyle, and his three younger siblings: Tom, Jim (Pamela) and Norma.

Memorial contributions can be made to any organization which promotes positive social or cultural change: Iowa Public Radio and Doctors Without Borders were two of Roger's favorites.