Thomas E. McHugh, 85, planted trees in forest preserves and helped dig out the Skokie Lagoon while trekking across the northern suburbs in his younger days as a member of the federal government’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Mr. McHugh, a retired Commonwealth Edison stationary engineer, died at home Monday, May 29, of cancer. A former Glenview resident, he had been living with a daughter in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood since the death of his wife, Margaret, in 1993. Mr. McHugh was born and raised in Chicago. After graduating from Lane Tech High School, he joined the conservation corps in the early 1930s. Life there was a lot like that in the Army. The men wore uniforms, lived together in barracks and received a small stipend for their hard labor. Years later, Mr. McHugh would tell his children about the harsh conditions–the muddy roads and frostbite-cold weather–under which the corps worked. But he also remembered the camaraderie among the men and until recently went to the monthly meetings and annual get-togethers of Civilian Conservation Corps Chapter No. 104, said his daughter Terri Heil. Survivors also include two other daughters, Margaret McBarron and Elizabeth; a son, Thomas; 12 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Visitation will be between 3 and 9 p.m. Thursday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 6150 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago. Mass will be said at 11:30 a.m. Friday at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 6036 W. Eastwood Ave., Chicago.
