Lake Forest Philanthropist Nancy Hughes Dies At 68

LAKE FOREST, IL — North Shore philanthropist Nancy Hughes died last week at the age of 68 at Lake Forest Hospital, in a building that, like many other local beneficiaries of her generosity, includes a pavilion bearing the name of her and her late husband, filmmaker John Hughes.

Nancy Lou Hughes was born April 22, 1951, in Chicago and grew up in Northbrook, according to an obituary from her family. She attended Glenbrook North High School, where in 1967 she met her future husband of 39 years. The high school sweethearts wed three years later. She was 19 and he 20.

They shared a love of music, attending a series of rock concerts in the 1960s and Chicago blues and reggae clubs in the 1970s. She also loved listening to music at home during marathon card games and poolside, according to her obituary. The couple worked a series of odd jobs, briefly lived in Arizona, and settled in Glencoe in the 1970s before heading to Los Angeles in their mid-30s, where they lived from from 1984 to 1988.

John, who died in 2009, began his career writing advertisements and began selling jokes to comedians before getting his writing published in Playboy and then National Lampoon. That led to his first produced screenplays, "National Lampoon's Class Reunion" and "National Lampoon's Vacation," which, along with "Mr. Mom," found box-office success though, he told Roger Ebert, he felt studios had spoiled the scripts. After that, he cut a deal with Universal allowing him to shoot all his movies in the Chicago area. His directorial debut, 1983's "Sixteen Candles," was the first of several set in the fictional suburb of Shermer — Northbrook's original name was Shermerville and Shermer Road runs through it. The North Shore and Chicago area feature prominently in his films, including "The Breakfast Club" — filmed at Maine North High School and, briefly, at Glenbrook North, which was also featured in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Her husband's iconic films would never have been made without Nancy, their son John told the Chicago Sun-Times. She endorsed the career move from advertising to screenwriting, and he relied on her intuition and would always show her early versions of his movies for feedback. Nancy made their North Shore, California and Arizona homes a refuge, her son said.

"Welcome were the black sheep of the neighborhood in need of companionship, as well as rising stars of Hollywood in need of stability," according to the obituary from her family. She was also the inspiration for the semi-autobiographical, "She's Having a Baby," which was dedicated to her. Its climax features a difficult birth at Evanston Hospital and a song, Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work," commissioned by the filmmaker.

After John's death, Nancy ensured their legacy will be remembered even among those who never see a frame of any of the influential films. The John & Nancy Hughes Theater at the Gorton Community Center and the John & Nancy Hughes Clubhouse at the Deerpath Golf Course in Lake Forest, the Hughes Auditorium at Northwestern University's Chicago campus and the Hughes Gateway at Forest Park Beach are all symbols of her decades of charitable contributions to the community.

"Nancy Hughes was an enthusiastic and kind woman who deeply loved her family and community. She was a generous and dedicated philanthropist," said Lake Forest Mayor George Pandaleon. "Her contributions to Lake Forest — the hospital, Gorton Community Center, Deerpath Golf Course and most recently, the Hughes Gateway at the beach — were foundational, leading to significant participation by many of her fellow residents, and improving the City in a permanent way."

Just a day before she died, members of the Lake Forest community gathered to dedicate the rebuilt beach access road just blocks from the home the couple shared on Westminster Road for more than two decades. After her husband's death, Nancy donated that house in 2014 to Lake Forest Hospital, which now includes the John & Nancy Hughes Pavilion. When flooding and a bluff collapse destroyed the road to the beach, she contributed $300,000 of the $2 million cost of the project.

"On behalf of all Lake Foresters present and future, thank you Nancy Hughes, for your love of Lake Forest and repeated demonstration of this with your bestowals around our fair city," former Mayor Rob Lansing said at the time.

Nancy was also deeply dedicated to the care of her parents, Henry and Naomi Ludwig, in their final years, according to her family. She cared for Henry as he suffered from dementia before his death in 2013 at age 90 and hosted Naomi at her house in Lake Forest for her final moths before her mother's death earlier this month. The night after attending burial services for her mother, Nancy fell ill. She spent five days in intensive care at Lake Forest Hospital before suffering complications from a blood infection and dying Sept. 15.

Nancy was buried beside her husband in Lake Forest Cemetery after private services Sept. 21, according to her family's obituary, which welcomed memorial contributions in her name to Northwestern Memorial Foundation to support Lake Forest Hospital. Lake Forest city officials plan to honor her with a resolution during an Oct. 7 City Council meeting, Pioneer Press reported.

"Nancy exemplified the love of Lake Forest and its spirit of philanthropy that we all share. She will be greatly missed," Pandaleon said. "The City of Lake Forest expresses its sincere sympathy to the members of the Hughes family."

In her first visit to the Gorton Center after its renovations in 2015, which were funded in part by her $2 million gift, Hughes told Forest & Bluff Magazine she and her husband "always had our privacy in Lake Forest," despite his Hollywood career.

"Lake Forest is a great community to raise children and living here has been one of the happier times in our lives," Hughes said. "When we found our Lake Forest home, there was no question that we wanted to live here. This is where we lived the longest. There is no other place that compares to Lake Forest."