V. Kenneth Mchugh

Vincent Kenneth McHugh, age 96, passed away peacefully on January 11, 2021 at home in Maumee Ohio surrounded by family and aides. Husband of Lorraine E. McHugh for over 67 years, he was always known as Ken to family, friends, and business associates. In an autobiography written in June 1949 Ken wrote, “an autobiography should be a factual account of one’s own life. However, too often the facts are uninteresting, it’s the twist that people give to daily happenings and their viewpoint of these happenings that makes for interesting listening or reading”. Ken’s life was neither uninteresting before or after those words were written in 1949. Ken was born in Detroit, Michigan to first generation US immigrants on November 10, 1924. His mother Bertha (Peggy nee Barrett) McHugh was English, born and raised in England. His father Thomas McHugh was born Irish and raised in Scotland. Little did he know when the family moved to their eventual final home in Detroit, Michigan he would be moving across the street from his future wife Lorraine. As he was fond of telling anybody who would listen, he described their first meeting – much to the embarrassment of Lorraine: “We moved to Cherrylawn Avenue and were greeted by Lorraine and her mom with a plate of cookies as a welcome to the neighborhood. She was just a 15 year old kid at the time who I didn’t pay much attention to, then I went off to serve in the Army Air Force for 3 years and when I returned she was 18 and then I noticed her!” Ken enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943 and attended Brown University for training as an Air Force meteorologist. He was a proud veteran of WWII as a member of the weather directorate, serving from April 1943 to February 1946 with the 3502nd AAF Base Unit. Upon his discharge he immediately entered the University of Detroit to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering. After graduating, but before starting his career, Ken went to Europe in 1950 and traveled for months with a group on bicycles from England to Italy, staying in Youth Hostels or camping out. That bicycle became a fixture in every McHugh garage over the following 70 years until eventually given away to a collector in 2019. Oldest son John would often refer to it as garage art as it was always hanging on the garage wall. Upon his return from Europe he started a career in Business Development with the automotive paint supplier Rinshed-Mason. And started to date his future wife Lorraine. His dating challenge was she was also embarking upon her career in the travel industry with TWA in Chicago – traveling would become a passion they both shared throughout their long lives. Ken commuted to Chicago via train out of Detroit on the weekends for years, eventually they married and started a family of 4 boys. Ken continued to advance his career and returned to the University of Detroit to earn an MBA in 1958. In the early 1960’s Rinshed-Mason was sold to Interchemical Corporation, who was promptly sold to BASF. A career crossroad was looming as BASF wanted Ken to move the family to their headquarters in New York City. He declined and instead formed a partnership that acquired two paint companies in Toledo Ohio combining the best of both companies to form Atech Inc. which operated from the 1960’s to the mid 1970’s in downtown Toledo on St. Clair Street. The family moved to Sylvania during this period and then eventually to Maumee where they lived over 30 years. Atech was eventually sold in the middle 1970’s and Ken started the third phase of his career as a self- employed consultant selling manufacturing and distribution companies in the Midwest. In his later years when most people would be retired he joined forces with his eldest son John and formed a business doing domestic merger, acquisition and business development advisory work finally retiring at age 91. Later in life he was an avid proponent of running and later walking to stay fit, not starting until he was age 50 but exercising daily until just before his passing. He was a familiar figure around area parks and to his neighbors and loved seeing and talking to the many friends he had made over the years. Ken was preceded in death by his wife Lorraine on December 20, 2020 and is survived by his brother Thomas and wife Diane McHugh, sons, John, Jeffrey and his wife Robin, grandchildren Megan and her husband Jimmy, Jessica and Elizabeth, son James, his wife Kristina and grandchildren Cameron and Austin, and his youngest son Robert. The family wishes to extend a special thank you to The Team, the group of health care professionals, friends and now extended members of the McHugh family who were quickly reunited to play a crucial role in the care of Ken in his final days. Services and interment will be private. Condolences and fond memories are encouraged to be shared on Ken’s Tribute Wall on this page.