Larry Hughes: A life of service on Orcas Island
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026
Submitted by the Orcas Community Resource Center Communications Team.
Our community has lost a treasured Orcas Island presence. Larry Hughes was a quiet, steady light for so many on Orcas — the ones who felt unseen, unheard or already forgotten. Where others saw obstacles, Hughes saw a person with a life worth living. He met people right where they were, on the streets and in the shadows, and walked with them toward safety, dignity and hope.
Hughes moved to Orcas after spending much of his career working with individuals experiencing homelessness in New York City. Drawn by the peace and natural beauty of the island, he originally planned to focus his work on supporting island seniors. But once here, he quickly recognized the same struggles he had witnessed in larger cities — poverty, addiction, homelessness, isolation and untreated mental illness quietly impacting members of our small rural community. Instead of turning away, Hughes leaned in with compassion and purpose.
A veteran who served in the U.S. Army, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Designated Crisis Responder, Hughes brought profound humanity to his work. During the COVID pandemic, he worked closely with Orcas Island’s unsheltered population, helping individuals survive a time when “sheltering in place” was impossible for those with no shelter at all. He later joined the Orcas Community Resource Center as a case manager, where he continued advocating fiercely for some of our island’s most vulnerable neighbors.
Hughes never defined his work by recognition or numbers. He measured it in rides given on cold nights, warm meals shared without judgment, and second chances. He listened first. He remembered names. He kept showing up. Over the years, the circle of people he helped — neighbors facing addiction, mental health challenges, homelessness and isolation — grew into a quiet constellation of lives changed.
It’s hard to quantify what it means to be an “angel on the streets,” but if you ever watched Hughes kneel to look someone in the eyes, or felt his hand on your shoulder when you needed it most, you know. He believed every person deserves compassion and a path forward. He helped people find housing, navigate appointments, reconnect with family and — most importantly — believe they mattered.
Hughes’ legacy lives in the safer nights he created, the reunions he made possible, and the dignity he restored. It also lives in those of us who learned from him that community isn’t a place we live — it’s a promise we keep.
To honor Hughes, we invite our community to carry his work forward: greet each other by name, offer grace without conditions and make room for the next person who needs a hand. Larry, you will forever be missed. Thank you for teaching us how to love our neighbors, especially when it’s hard.
Read Hughes’ obituary here: https://www.affinityfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Lawrence-Michael-Hughes?obId=48441904.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Orcas Community Resource Center online orcascrc.org/ways-to-give). Checks may be mailed to: Orcas Community Resource Center, P.O. Box 931, Eastsound, WA 98245. Please note “In memory of Larry Hughes.”
