Cover photo for Carolyne Lois (Beaty) Hughes's Obituary
Carolyne Lois (Beaty) Hughes Profile Photo
1932 Carolyne 2025

Carolyne Lois (Beaty) Hughes

September 4, 1932 — July 6, 2025

NORTHAMPTON-Lois Beaty, Librarian, completed the last chapter of her life on Sunday July 6, 2025. Lois was born in Gainesville, Florida, the youngest daughter of three. Growing up, she shared with her family a love of the outdoors, particularly flowers, birds, mountains, and a love of books and education. She enjoyed swimming and horse back riding with her siblings, summers spent on the farm in Kentucky, and many childhood friends from P.K. Yonge Laboratory school.
Lois graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville (where her father was Dean of students), with a degree in English in 1954. After graduation she married J.D. Sigler and moved to Port Washington, N.Y. where she had her first daughter, Judy, in 1955. The young family moved to Florida where they added three more daughters, Anita in 1957, Sharon in 1958 and Janna in 1961. As the family grew and established a home in Indialantic, Florida, Lois shared with her children early morning breakfasts on the beach, tips to the mountains of North Carolina, and a taste of the farm with lots of animals-ducks, turtles, hamsters, toads, fish, injured baby birds, mice, dogs and cats. She passed down her love of books through many trips to the public library and loads of Dr. Seuss and Little Bear books.
In 1969, Lois turned her love of books into a career as a college librarian where she began working as a reference librarian at Florida Institute of Technology. In the 1970’s Lois finished her master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern Florida. After a divorce and remarriage, she relocated to New England. Over the years she moved across the country and worked as a library director for various colleges including Hawthrone College in New Hampshire and Seattle Central College in Washington. In retirement, Lois finally settled in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, volunteering at the Meekins Library. She loved tending her flower garden, watching birds from her porch overlooking the Mill River and making regular trips to Senior Center classes and the Forbes Library in Northampton.
Lois was preceded in death by her second husband, Jack Hughes in 2007. Her sister Marjorie in 2009 and her brother Robert in 2016, and her beloved friend Bill Gold in 2016. She is survived by her four daughters, Judy Lamb (Jim) of Orlando, FLA., Anita Grincewicz (Don) of Northampton, MA., Sharon Sigler of Orlando, FLA., and Janna Schledorn (Mark) of Melbourne, FLA., five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Her legacy of joy in small pleasures and fondness for words, books, and stories will continue for generations. As the poet John Donne concludes “all mankind is of one Author” and we look forward to that day that Author “shall bind up all our scattered leaves again, for that Library where every book shall lie open to one another”.
At Lois’ request, all services will be private and donations in her memory may be made to Meekins Library, 2 Williams St, Williamsburg, MA 01096 or Forbes Library, 20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Carolyne Lois (Beaty) Hughes, please visit our flower store.

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