By Brandon C. Williams
Editor, The Post Newspaper
The Galveston County area is mourning the sudden and tragic loss of longtime Dr. Nancy Lefeber Hughes, who passed away in a hit-and-run accident early Friday morning.
Hughes, who was born on December 21, 1954, was riding her bicycle toward East Beach Drive when she was hit by a vehicle, which drove away from the scene.
Hughes was a second-generation of Lefeber family physicians who have provided care for Galvestonians since her father, Dr. James Edward Lefeber, began his practice on the island in 1939.
“We all loved her!!!” said The Post Newspaper Features Editor Ruth Ann Ruiz, who was a patient of Hughes. “She was well-known in the community, but yet a humble individual.”
Hughes’ brother, a graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, is also a practicing doctor.
“She was more than loved,” added Ruiz. “Her empathy, kindness and grace were part of her relationship with her patients.”
Hughes’ popularity with her patients also came from a loyal and experienced staff, many of which had worked with Hughes for decades.
“Her staff loved her,” said Ruiz.
A 1994 graduate of the UTMB Medical Branch, Hughes was referred as “an excellent, caring doctor” by her patients.
“There will be a whole lot of people without their Angel of a doctor,” said Ruiz, who had visited Hughes on Wednesday. “Her staff were all mirrors of her with the same kindness and empathy.”
As of Friday’s presstime, the suspected driver in the hit-and-run had not been arrested.
