Folk Personality. The American Medical Association listed the six-foot Hughes to be the heaviest human being ever. He was born a normally sized baby, but by the age of 10 he weighed 375 pounds. Doctors said that an attack of whooping cough at three months old had upset his glandular balance, causing the excess weight, possibly having ruptured his pituitary gland. By the time he was in 7th grade, he weighed 550 pounds. He quit school at that time. In 1958, the Gooding Brothers Amusement Co listed his weight as 1065 pounds. His headstone states 1041 pounds. For most of his life, his size left him immobile and homebound in a tiny farming community. His brother Guy said he enjoyed reading, listening to the radio, writing and receiving letters, and visiting people. He also helped out on the family farm however he could; picking up eggs, feeding the chickens, etc. He wanted to help his family financially, so he eventually joined a circus as an attraction. He also enjoyed attending county fairs and festivals as a spectator. He was described by many as a gregarious young man, very friendly and jolly, with a smile on his face. Many in Pike County, Illinois remembered him visiting different towns in the county in the bed of a pick-up truck so people could visit him. At the time of his death, he had been appearing with the Gooding Brothers Amusement Company in Nappanee, Indiana. His casket was specially constructed by the Embalming Burial Case Company of Burlington, Iowa. The casket was made of heavy cypress wood reinforced with steel, and was not a piano case as some believe. Following his funeral, burial took place at the Benville Cemetery in Brown County, Illinois with an estimated 2000 people in attendance. At Fishhook (Pike County, Illinois), a black granite memorial has been erected in his memory. It shows a light etching of him in overalls, his face beaming a genial smile as he leans on a thick cane for needed support. Underneath is this message: "May we not only remember he was the world's largest man from the small community of Fishhook, but also an average man with an enormous heart for people."
Folk Personality. The American Medical Association listed the six-foot Hughes to be the heaviest human being ever. He was born a normally sized baby, but by the age of 10 he weighed 375 pounds. Doctors said that an attack of whooping cough at three months old had upset his glandular balance, causing the excess weight, possibly having ruptured his pituitary gland. By the time he was in 7th grade, he weighed 550 pounds. He quit school at that time. In 1958, the Gooding Brothers Amusement Co listed his weight as 1065 pounds. His headstone states 1041 pounds. For most of his life, his size left him immobile and homebound in a tiny farming community. His brother Guy said he enjoyed reading, listening to the radio, writing and receiving letters, and visiting people. He also helped out on the family farm however he could; picking up eggs, feeding the chickens, etc. He wanted to help his family financially, so he eventually joined a circus as an attraction. He also enjoyed attending county fairs and festivals as a spectator. He was described by many as a gregarious young man, very friendly and jolly, with a smile on his face. Many in Pike County, Illinois remembered him visiting different towns in the county in the bed of a pick-up truck so people could visit him. At the time of his death, he had been appearing with the Gooding Brothers Amusement Company in Nappanee, Indiana. His casket was specially constructed by the Embalming Burial Case Company of Burlington, Iowa. The casket was made of heavy cypress wood reinforced with steel, and was not a piano case as some believe. Following his funeral, burial took place at the Benville Cemetery in Brown County, Illinois with an estimated 2000 people in attendance. At Fishhook (Pike County, Illinois), a black granite memorial has been erected in his memory. It shows a light etching of him in overalls, his face beaming a genial smile as he leans on a thick cane for needed support. Underneath is this message: "May we not only remember he was the world's largest man from the small community of Fishhook, but also an average man with an enormous heart for people."
Bio by: Lisa Ruble
Family Members
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