Cause & Legacy
“There’s always something meaningful each of us can do to honor the gift of life in ourselves and the world around us.”
- Joshua Hughes
The Joshua Dane Hughes Foundation was created to honor and memorialize our son Joshua.
He was ever present in our lives, in those he loved, and in those he lived and worked with every day. His loss was felt by many across the world. His memory will live on by all who love and miss him and those who will benefit from the scholarship fund created in his name.
Joshua was born November 15, 1992, in Roanoke, Virginia, 10 weeks premature. He weighed a mere 3lbs, 80zs and spent 6 weeks in the Neonatal ICU. Joshua had a large brain hemorrhage during his time in the NICU and we were told he had a 95% chance of having significant Cerebral Palsy. Growing up he endured many months of physical therapy to overcome his physical deficits. Joshua knew he would never be the star athlete, so he chose to excel and use his scholastic aptitude. Education was his focus, and through his love of reading, he became an excellent writer. He also became an excellent public speaker, using his baritone voice to project his thoughts and opinions. He was often chosen to be the narrator in performances or team debates. Joshua grew up in Elon, NC and graduated from Western Alamance High School in 2011 as Salutatorian and Senior Class President. He was active in his church, his faith and spirituality grew under his Pastors, John Shields and Shannon Wolfe.
Starting in High School, Joshua was passionate about politics and world affairs. He was active in Teen and Young Democrats in NC serving in several different roles. This continued into adulthood, actively campaigning for Barack Obama and more recently for Joe Biden making calls while living in London, England. Making these calls at 12am-3am London time, to make them during evening hours on the east coast of the USA. While living in the UK during the 2020 elections, he stayed up all night to follow the results. He loved to share his thoughts about world politics and although he was a private person, he cherished engaging in adult conversations on a multitude of interesting topics.
Joshua graduated from UNC at Chapel Hill. He was active in the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies and was a speaker for his graduating class of 2016. He had a passion for learning and majored in Political Science and Religious Studies with a minor in Philosophy. In college, he chose to follow Catholicism and was also confirmed in 2016. Wherever he lived around the world, he always found his church and small groups. His faith was very important to him.
Motivated by his faith, Joshua’s first job had him moving to Middleton, MA working for the Catholic Archdiocese. Continuing his dedication to serving others and his community, his next job took him to Boston, MA working for the Cambridge Housing Authority. He loved helping senior citizens find safe housing and teaching them how to budget their money.
In 2018, Joshua’s thirst for knowledge led him to decide it was time to work on his advanced degree and chose to move to London, England after he was accepted to University College London in their history program. After graduating and earning his 1st Master’s degree from this program, he expanded his educational achievements even more by being accepted to King's College in London in their War Studies program. He graduated and earned his 2nd Master’s degree in 2020.
Joshua came home to NC in 2021 to find employment. He promptly was selected as 1 of 250 nationwide Presidential Management Fellows and was quickly offered (top 3% of his class) a position for the Department of Defense with Space Force as an Acquisitions Program Manager. He was assigned to Space Force Command, and he relocated to Los Angeles, CA. While in California, Joshua was selected as the lead researcher for the Department of the Air Force on barriers to LGBTQ personnel in military service. He was extremely proud of this accomplishment and was looking forward to leading this research. Joshua was inspired by Pete Buttigieg and aspired to be a role model, not only for all people, but especially for the LGBTQ community. He felt that all people should love one another regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was very important to him. He lived by showing love to everyone and in return he was loved by all who knew him.
Joshua had a love for reading and was constantly seeking to expand his knowledge in various fields, both within the United States and internationally. He enjoyed writing about politics and was writing policy briefs for lobbyists; one of his writings, about the Child Tax Credit, was selected and published by a Senator. Joshua had just been offered and accepted his next appointment with the Presidential Fellowship to work for the Joint Chief of Staff in Washington DC focusing on counter terrorism. He also received a phone call from the White House offering him a position analyzing policies and distributing them to the appropriate departments.
“As your efforts celebrate Joshua, you can feel what I call the “Josh Effect”, the lasting influence his life is having and will continue to have, in a world that so needs to know the greatness of his spirit.”
- Dave Moreton, Positive Role Model Award Recipient, National Diversity Awards 2023
Joshua was known for his dedication to physical fitness and enjoyed spending time working out. He always traveled with his favorite pair of running shoes. He was known for carrying on a phone conversation with his mother and when questioned about what he was doing, he would inform us that he was on a 10-mile run and he was on mile 7. Reading was a passion for him, along with his running shoes he also had a book in hand. He discovered his zeal for reading as a young boy. He started reading the Harry Potter books when he was 8 years old. He quickly moved on to the Hobbit and to his all-time favorite book series, The Lord of the Rings. Joshua loved all things J.R.R. Tolkien. As an adult, he was passionate about all things political.
“Josh was unique and truly exceptional. From the moment he was brought into our unit, his vibrancy and strength left an indelible mark on us all. His resilience and courage in the face of adversity were nothing short of inspiring, and his zest for life was genuinely infectious. Know that your son left a significant mark on everyone he met, including me. His spirit, his tenacity, his compassion, and his joie de vivre will always be remembered, and his influence will continue to inspire me.”
- Jon Lucaj M.D. Cedars-Sinai Hospital
In June 2023, Joshua suddenly became violently ill and was admitted to the hospital in acute heart failure. While at Cedars-Sinai, the doctors determined he needed a heart transplant. A donor was selected, and Joshua was scheduled to have his transplant surgery but unfortunately, he did not live long enough to receive his heart. Joshua Dane Hughes, 30, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 3, 2023, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, CA surrounded by his loving family.
Joshua will be remembered as a kind, loving, gentle soul, who was an intelligent, and driven individual. He accomplished his life goal to make it to Washington DC with his dream jobs at the Pentagon and White House. His contagious smile was always present to share with others. We all miss him terribly.
The Joshua Dane Hughes Foundation and Jogging for Josh was born to not only honor Joshua’s dreams, but to raise funds for a scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Joshua loved helping people, always putting others before himself. In this spirit, the scholarship will help others achieve their professional goals and personal aspirations. Joshua’s dreams, and life were tragically cut short and hopefully by helping others fulfill their life goals, the work, which was left unrealized by Joshua, will become realized.