Carolyn Hughes

Carolyn Alfano Hughes passed away December 11, 2018 at the age of 80.

Carolyn was born August 7, 1938 to Frank Vincent and Annie (Palazzo) Alfano in Houston. Growing up on West Cottage in The Heights with her siblings, Carolyn was very popular. She was a member of many clubs and organizations. At the time, she said she wanted to be either a school teacher or a nun. She turned out to be quite the opposite of either. When Carolyn was in high school, her parents owned a grocery store and her father had a produce truck. He would often give away a lot of the produce at the end of each week. When Carolyn wanted to go a dance, her father would pick her up from school in the produce truck, with her party dress hanging amidst the produce. She would climb into the covered part of the truck and change into her party clothes while her father drove to the dance party. She always joked about how here her clothes always smelled like cabbage. She enjoyed going to sock hops and spent time at the soda fountain. She told stories of ordering an egg cream or a root beer float, and how the popular thing was to dump your bag of salted peanuts into your bottle of Coke or Pepsi and eat and drink them at the same time. She attended St. Anne’s School before graduating from St. Agnes in 1957.

Carolyn worked for Magcobar, one of the first clay mining companies in Houston, in the late 50s to early 60s. It was during this time that she met and married Robert E. Guarino. She gave birth to her daughter Lisa Carol Guarino in February 1962. After having Lisa, she began working at Stevens of Hollywood Ballroom Dancing Studio. She was and excellent dancer and competed in many dance competitions with Mr. Lance Stevens. From there, she worked at KILT radio station, which was rock and roll, and then on to KENR, which was country and western. She left radio and went to work at Fool’s Gold Nightclub, where she was responsible for booking acts and for all of their parties and entertainment.

In 1970, Carolyn met and married John W. Hughes. She had her son JD – John David Hughes, named after his daddy. She considered JD to be the greatest gift from God. He was so loved as a child. At this time, her baby brother Sammy was well into his career in the music business, managing and promoting for record labels like MCA, Elektra, Asylum, and Atlantic Records. Carolyn helped her husband get employed with her brother Sammy when he moved back home to Houston from L.A. Sammy and Carolyn worked together when she left Fool’s Gold to open her own booking company called Carolyn Hughes Booking Agency. Together Carolyn and her brother Sammy signed on many artists that they discovered, such as George Strait and Eddie Rabbit. Her children Lisa and JD were able to enjoy front row seats and backstage passes to every concert that Carolyn was able to book. Carolyn loved to plan extravagant parties for her children – slumber parties with scavenger hunts, country and western parties for JD, and an amazing sweet 16 party for her daughter.

Carolyn was an amazing, vibrant and outgoing person, she was also extremely organized and detail oriented. She enjoyed planning and taking annual vacations with her family to Colorado and Florida. Together they enjoyed snow skiing, water sports, camping trips, and fishing. Family history interested her, and she liked to share the memories with her children.

Carolyn had accomplishments early in her early life but honestly those moments paled in comparison to the time she spent with her only grandchild- Hayden. From a love of country music to those special weekly lunches, Carolyn enjoyed a special relationship with JD and his family from the time she moved to College Station until her passing. When not spending time with her family in College Station, Carolyn enjoyed her roommate Phyllis and the wonderful staff at Fortress Nursing Home and Rehabilitation. Meredith, a close friend, was a deep comfort to Carolyn- bringing her Communion weekly and even taking her to Mass when possible and the family is very grateful for her faithful friendship.

Carolyn was blessed to have a strong relationship with her daughter Lisa as well. From their long phone calls to Lisa’s yearly visits, it was truly a strong bond that bridged the physical distance between Lisa and Carolyn.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her sister Mary Ann Alfano and her brother Sammy J. Alfano. She leaves behind her brother and sister-in-law Vincent “Bo” and Elia Alfano, her son and daughter-in-law John David and Laura Lee Hughes, her daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Todd Covert, and her beloved three-year-old grandson Hayden Wesley Hughes.

To honor Carolyn’s life, her family has planned a Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at 1:30 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church 1801 Sage Road, Huston, Texas, followed by a reception in the church hall.