A good friend of people who stutter, Mike Hughes, passed away on September 22, 2010. He was the executive director of Speak Easy Inc., a Canadian organization for people who stutter. Since 1984 Speak Easy provided information and support to adult stutterers, parents of stuttering children, professionals in the field, and the general public. The organization also published a monthly magazine, Speaking Out, edited by Hughes, and published over 200 issues.

Below is his obituary that his daughter sent to me.

HUGHES, Michael Owen - Michael Hughes devoted husband of Maureen (Osborne) Hughes of Saint John passed away at the Saint John Regional Hospital on September 22, 2010. Born March of 1942 he was the son of the late Walter and Mary (Malone) Hughes.

Besides his loving wife Maureen, Michael is survived by his sons Scot Michael (Karen) of Philadelphia, PA and Brian Owen (Joyce) of Enfield, NS; daughter Teresa Rose Peck (Thomas) of Sussex, NB; brothers Walter Christopher Hughes of Saint John and Walter Gerrard Hughes (Petra) of Ottawa, ON; sisters Mary Lou McClusky (Terrance) of Sydney, NS and Faith Eileen Kashetsky (Hertzl) of Saint John; three precious grandchildren Haley, Hannah and Matthew; several nieces, nephews and friends.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Fundy Funeral Home 230 Westmorland Rd. Saint John (646-2424). By request there will be no visitation. Memorial service will be held from the Fundy Funeral Home Chapel on Monday September 27, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. Private family interment to take place at a later date. Donations in Michael's memory can be made to the charity of the donor's choice. To send a message of condolence please visit www.fundyfuneralhome.com

For many years Mike was very supportive and active in the International Stuttering Awareness Day online conferences. He contacted many of the presenters getting permission to publish their articles in Speaking Out. He also invited me to write articles for Speaking Out several times and we had a very rich and interesting email correspondence.

Mike had a gift for writing and story-telling and also wrote many interesting articles for some of the ISAD online conferences and for the section on the Stuttering Home Page - PWS Speak for Themselves.

• Wedding Vows, an autobiography
• Fuhgeddaboutit!
• STUTTERING: The Real World
• Childhood: the pain of stuttering
• Speak Easy, Inc. (Canada)
• Truth in Advertising
• "6-9-6"
• Marriage Vows
• The Rage