Dr. Fred Morris Hughes

Fred Morris Hughes was born in Ozark, Alabama, on February 26, 1897, and came to Houston about 1924. A physician, he served in both World Wars and was a member of West University Methodist Church.

He was initiated in Gray Lodge on November 10, 1926, passed on August 1, 1927, and raised on September 2, 1927. He was Senior Deacon in 1934 and was installed as the 66th Master in 1937 by Past Master K. E. Gaugler, with Past Master J. N. Messer as Marshal.

His year began with a watermelon party at the home of Past Master H. A. Johnson. The lodge kept up its work with the Relief Board, and Houston Wade spoke on the founding of Gray Lodge and on the history of Masonry in Texas. The lodge room curtains were dyed and refreshed. The dues by-law was simplified to $10 a year, with Past Masters, Life Members, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Tiler exempt. On January 24, 1938, Masons of the Houston police force, in uniform, conferred a degree, and East Gate Lodge presented the Masonic drama “The Greatest of These.” The equity of Gray and Temple Lodges in the Temple was set at 60 and 40 percent, and Worshipful Master Hughes served as a member of the Temple corporation.

Dr. Hughes was a York Rite Mason, a Shriner, and Past Patron of Andral Vann Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. He died suddenly on January 28, 1957, and was buried in Forest Park. He was survived by his wife, Alva Mae.