Donald Raymond (Don) Hughes, of Ovilla, Texas, passed away peacefully on August 3, 2026, at the age of 74, with his family at his side. A devoted husband, father, granddad, brother, uncle and friend, Don was born to Jack Raymond and Doris Hughes in Dallas, Texas on February 23, 1952. He was the youngest of three children.

From an early age, Don had a competitive spirit and wanted to make the most out of life. Whether he was riding bikes with friends or playing on his high school football team, everything was a competition for him. Don graduated from H. Grady Spruce High School in 1970, and attended Tyler Junior College, where he was a charter member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

When Don was ten years old, a cute girl from Missouri moved to his street in Pleasant Grove with her family. His mom actually paid him to take that girl to their sixth grade dance, even though she was a head taller than he was! They became great friends and had more of a brother/sister relationship until one Valentine’s Day years later when Don gave her a huge heart full of chocolates. That cute girl became his wife, Stephanie, and they enjoyed 52 years of marriage to one another. Their daughter, Brittany, completed their family and the threesome enjoyed many adventures together from snow skiing to beach trips and visiting Disney World. When Brittany was little, she and Don started going to movies together and that became their regular Dad/daughter activity.

Don made his career in the insurance business, starting at Kemper Insurance and eventually owning his own Farmer’s agency with Stephanie, first in Duncanville and then in Ovilla. Since Don’s retirement in 2019, he and Stephanie continued to work in insurance in the classic car space with Grundy Insurance, where he became a beloved partner and friend to the Grundy family. Don really appreciated the opportunity to combine his love for classic cars and insurance, and he travelled all over the midwest attending car shows and meeting customers.

Throughout his life, Don loved cars, especially the ones that went fast and left marks. During his life he restored and sold at least nine cars and built several dirt track race cars for himself, his brother, brother in-law, and friends. From researching cars to rebuilding them, Don spent innumerable days in his shop. He could do the mechanic restoration, but he really enjoyed the body work. Don could spend countless hours sanding, because making the cars pretty was his favorite part. In fact, restoring his prized 1969 orange Chevrolet Camaro fulfilled a lifelong dream — and he had a blast driving it in classic car cruises, to the Good Guys Car Show, or even to a Friday Night Cruise-In in Midlothian. Each fall for seventeen years, Don and his best friend, Jim Periman, enjoyed taking the Camaro on the Lone Star Loop, one-thousand mile trips around Texas and the adjoining states. After about a decade, Stephanie even got invited to join! The beautiful 54-mile Talimena National Scenic Byway along the crests of the mountains between Arkansas and Oklahoma became one of their favorite spots. If not in the 69, Don and Stephanie enjoyed long road trips in his 2016 red Camaro convertible (with a corvette engine).

From driving his own street cars in dirt track races to watching countless NASCAR events at Texas Motor Speedway, Don loved the thrill of a good race. And, he loved a good time! Don was the mastermind behind the Hughes Camp on racing weekends, planning the meals and laying out the camp set-up (on grid paper!) down to the foot. It was all to maximize the fun with his family and friends for so many years. While Don’s grandchildren were growing up, spending time with them and attending all of their activities became his focus. As a life-long avid golfer, few things made Don happier than spending a day on the golf course with friends, his son-in-law, grandson and grandson in-law.

Even with his love for cars, golf and road trips, Don would tell you his favorite place on earth was his back deck. Sitting on the deck with friends or family, drinking a Miller Lite and listening to Robert Earl Keen was the perfect end to any day for him. He would always say he wanted to be known as a good person — and his friends describe Don as a good guy with a great moral compass. His grandchildren probably describe him best, “Grandad was an amazing man whose love, stories, and steady answers shaped our lives and made him the kind of Grandad we’ll always look up to.”

Don is survived by his wife and life-long love Stephanie; sister and brother-in-law Linda and Jerry Pinkerton; sister-in-law Laura Hughes; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Kim and David Vyers; brother-in-law Rick Johnson and Donna Dunham; daughter Brittany Goerig and husband Greg; grandchildren Kaylee Hanks and husband Caleb, Landen Goerig and Maycee Goerig; great-grandchildren Carter and Harper Hanks; nieces and nephews; and his best friends Jim Periman and Steve Pyle. Don is preceded in death by his father, Jack Hughes, mother Doris Waltrip and her husband Fred, and his brother Jack David Hughes.

In lieu of flowers to please donate to:

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Office of Development & Alumni Relations

P. O Box 910888

Dallas, TX 75391-0888

https://give.utsouthwestern.edu/campaigns/77683/donations/new?_ga=2.107558592.393321157.1785877556-2027423915.1785257890