Lela Mae Hughes

LELA M. ALSTON HUGHES was born December the 13th, 1945 to the late Willie and Anna Francis Alston. She was born in the home of her godfather, Reverend Charles and Aunt Josephine Horns, at 1503 East Jefferson Street. Lela was the 3rd of 6 children. She was preceded in death by her siblings Shirley, Willie, James and Ronald Alston. Lela was educated in the Baltimore City Public School System and graduated from Carver Vocational High School. She also attended Catonsville Community College. Lela had a 40-year career working at Waverly Press (Cadmus Journal Services). While working there she had many jobs from bindery clerk, mail desk associate, prep clerk, illustrations planner and account coordinator. After 40 years, she decided to retire to take care of her sick family and to serve more time in her church. Lela was a lifetime member of Triumph Missionary Baptist Church under her godfather, the late Reverend Charles Horns. She joined the church at the age of 5 years old and remained a lifelong, faithful member (now Triumph Christian Church), under her beloved pastor, Bishop Pompey H. Swan. Sister Lela, as she was known, ran the soup kitchen. She also ran community outreach, serving thousands of meals for over 10 years. Lela loved, valued and cherished, collecting rare coins. And over the years, she amassed a substantial collection of coins and other rare currency. Above all things, Lela valued her family. She deeply enjoyed researching her family history. This included making several trips to Tillery, North Carolina to research the family history back to the Tillery Plantation. She also organized the first large scale family reunion in 1981. Lela was affectionately known by many terms of endearment or nick names. Those names included “Snow Baby,” “Lee-Lee”, “Lee”, “Mavis” and “Nada. ” Lela is survived by: her sister, Francine Alston-Ball; children, Andre D. Tyler and Tiffany L. Hughes; grandchildren, Saeed O. Sydnor and Noah A. Tyler; ex-husband, Franklin Hughes; godsister, Brenda Williams; as well as five nieces, four nephews, co-workers, church members, neighbors, other family and friends. \ bvvm

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Lela Mae Hughes

December 13, 1945 - May 27, 2023