07/07/2025
Dear Friends,
It is with great sadness that we share the news that we recently lost one of our dearest friends, Bill Hughes.
Born William Wallace Ryder Hughes, Jr., on June 27, 1938, he died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of June 30, 2025, three days after his 87th birthday—a week-long celebration, capped by a serious weekend of partying with a dozen of his closest dance friends.
Bill joined the vintage dance community almost forty years ago. He and his partner Kit Northup showed up one day at our Hartford classes. But his theatrical flair and love for dance were truly cemented when they—quite by accident—joined the Vintage Dance Society troupe in the middle of a performance at the Wadsworth Atheneum in January 1987. Oops! From that moment on, they were "vintage dancers". It was only natural that they would then ultimately became part of the performing troupe “Prim But Not Too Proper.”
For the next 38 years, Bill (usually in the company of Kit or Vickie Wagner) was a constant presence on the dance floor. Whether he was dancing, or creating scenery with “Smoke & Mirrors”, or helping with events like the annual Holiday Ball in Wethersfield, the Newport Vintage Dance Week, Moments in Time’s “Summer by the Sea” and gatherings at Senexet House, Bill poured his heart and energy into building community and spreading joy through dance.
As the charming gent of “The Three Cheeses” (aka “Fromage à Trois”), Bill treasured their trips to Europe with Dvorana Dance (Prague, Paris, Provence, Vienna, Budapest, Dublin, and Pilsen), as well as weeks hosted by Flying Cloud, San Diego Vintage Dance Society, The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, and The Vintage Dance Society.
Beyond dance, Bill had a rich and varied life. An officer in the Navy (most of you probably didn’t know that), he loved to sail. He loved to ski. A lifelong lover of classical music, he played violin in his youth (and he used to say that playing the banjo made him a chick magnet). In the past three decades he rarely missed a musical at The Goodspeed Opera House. He adored animated Disney films and made annual pilgrimages to Disney World. In April, he and Vickie made their fourth trip to the American southwest, whose beauty always brought him to tears. He was proud to cut a dapper figure in vintage clothes. He had a special love for animals, especially his cats. He loved to have a woman in his arms on the dance floor.
On top of everything else, he was always tinkering! Whether it was a computer or one of his vintage Saab convertibles, Bill was always taking something apart and putting it back together (he was an engineer after all). Being the consummate engineer, he had his own company for many years, but spent the last thirty working as an environmental engineer.
For those of you that would like to say goodbye:
Calling hours will be on Thursday July 10 from 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the Vincent Funeral Home, 120 Albany Turnpike, Canton, CT.
There will be a graveside ceremony on Friday July 11 at 11:00 at the Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford, CT.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite animal rescue charity.
I suspect we will have a dance event down the road to honor both Bill and Kit, who passed away on April 26.
Marc & Martha
