||| FROM RESOURCE CENTER COMMUNICATIONS TEAM|||
Larry Hughes
Larry moved to Orcas after spending much of his career working with individuals experiencing homelessness in New York City. Drawn by the peace and natural beauty of the island, he originally planned to focus his work on supporting island seniors. But once here, he quickly recognized the same struggles he had witnessed in larger cities—poverty, addiction, homelessness, isolation, and untreated mental illness quietly impacting members of our small rural community. Instead of turning away, Larry leaned in with compassion and purpose.
A veteran who served in the U.S. Army, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), and Designated Crisis Responder, Larry brought profound humanity to his work. During the Covid pandemic, he worked closely with Orcas Island’s unsheltered population, helping individuals survive a time when “sheltering in place” was impossible for those with no shelter at all. He later joined the Orcas Community Resource Center as a case manager, where he continued advocating fiercely for some of our island’s most vulnerable neighbors.
Larry never defined his work by recognition or numbers. He measured it in rides given on cold nights, warm meals shared without judgment, and second chances. He listened first. He remembered names. He kept showing up. Over the years, the circle of people he helped—neighbors facing addiction, mental health challenges, homelessness, and isolation—grew into a quiet constellation of lives changed.
It’s hard to quantify what it means to be an “angel on the streets,” but if you ever watched Larry kneel to look someone in the eyes, or felt his hand on your shoulder when you needed it most, you know. He believed every person deserves compassion and a path forward. He helped people find housing, navigate appointments, reconnect with family, and—most importantly—believe they mattered.
Larry’s legacy lives in the safer nights he created, the reunions he made possible, and the dignity he restored. It also lives in those of us who learned from him that community isn’t a place we live—it’s a promise we keep.
To honor Larry, we invite our community to carry his work forward: greet each other by name, offer grace without conditions, and make room for the next person who needs a hand. Larry, you will forever be missed. Thank you for teaching us how to love our neighbors, especially when it’s hard.
Read Larry’s heartfelt obituary here: Larry Hughes Obituary
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Larry’s memory to the Orcas Community Resource Center online at Orcas Community Resource Center Giving Page. Checks may be mailed to:
Orcas Community Resource Center
PO Box 931
Eastsound, WA 98245
Please note “In memory of Larry Hughes.”
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I am so sad to hear this. Larry was a caring man. He led a caregivers group many years ago that was so helpful to me and again several years later at a difficult time he was so helpful to me. The world has lost a a special person.