Pat was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 14, 1935, and, he was proud to say, the same day as the enactment of the Social Security Act. He married Diane Lopez at St. Clements Church in Chicago on October 2, 1976.

Pat was the oldest of the six children of Patrick and Nancy (Bracken) Hughes. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Mickey, Frank, Bill, and sister Kathleen, and his beloved cats.

As a dedicated criminal appellate attorney for much of his professional life, he loved his work and his co-workers, and was humble in his many accomplishments. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department in the 1960s, Director of the Prison Legal Services Project, and the Lakeview office of the Criminal Defense Consortium of Cook County. In 1977 Pat argued successfully before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Illinois, 434 U.S. 220. In 1979 he and Diane moved to Springfield for Pat’s position as the Legislative Director, and later as the First Assistant State Appellate Defender, of the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender.

Pat received numerous awards during his career. The most notable awards included being named an Illinois Laureate by the Illinois State Bar Association (2004), receiving the Promotion of Social Justice Award from the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2013), and being honored with the Benjamin C. Bachrach Service to the Defense Award by the Illinois Public Defender Association (2014), of which he was a past President and longstanding Secretary.

He dedicated much of his time to training the next generation of public defenders. For three decades Pat organized a yearly trial advocacy training program in Chicago for public defenders. He also volunteered his time at the Office of the State Appellate Defender for 14 years after retiring, spending many hours in his old office sharing his years of wisdom.

Pat loved reading, sports, classical music, playing with his grandchildren, enjoying good food with his family, and was a lifelong Cubs fan, serendipitously having viewed the 2016 World Series on television after a lunch of White Castle hamburgers with his son on the day of his death. He was proud that his sons pursued careers aligned with two of his passions: the law and classical music. Brendan is currently studying for the California bar exam. Devin is the Conductor and Music Director of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra in Boulder, Colorado, and the Arapahoe Philharmonic in Littleton, Colorado.

Pat is survived by brother Dennis Hughes (Rose Kelly); wife Diane Lopez Hughes; sons Devin Patrick Hughes (Molly Kittle) and Brendan Hughes (Lesley Nuno) and cherished grandchildren Kieran and Nolina.