Kevin is the second child of Dick and Irene Hughes (Ricky, Kevin, Colleen). Like the rest of the family, he was born and raised in Hanover Township (Wilkes-Barre) and attended Hanover Area High School.
He had a happy childhood and laughs when he remembers breaking his arm when he fell off the railing of his back porch while pretending he was riding a horse. He loved visiting his family in Larksville, especially George and Tim Herbert who he saw on Sundays when his family visited Aunt Peg.
He met his wife, Shirley Dobitas, when she was a waitress at the Holiday Pancake House. She had already caught his eye, but one day when he went to the restaurant, he could see she was very upset about something. When he discovered it was because her car was broken and she wasn’t sure what to do about it, he offered to fix it and did. The rest is history!
Shirley was born and raised in Mountaintop, Pa. She worked at the Social Security Office, a job she eventually gave up to raise their daughters. When they were old enough, she went back to work as a waitress at Red Lobster where she stayed for 21 years. Kevin praises her for being a wonderful caretaker, particularly grateful for the kindness she showed his parents as they got older.
Kevin and Shirley had two daughters, Kaycee and Amanda, and they shared a rich family life together. They loved camping in their pop up camper and, when the girls were small, Kevin would set it up for them in the back yard so they could play in it. They especially liked going to places like Lake Gene, Rickets Glen and Wildwood. Kevin and Shirley now enjoy camping in Ocean City, Md. He also enjoys going to car shows.
Kevin is a tractor trailer driver for Walmart, covering about 500 miles most days. He’s home every night, though, and likes his job.
Their oldest daughter, Kaycee, is married to Anthony Mercandante and they have a son, Santino. Kaycee is an elementary school teacher at Kistler School and Anthony is a middle school teacher at GAR. They live next door to Kevin and Shirley.
Amanda is married to Michael Rostkowski and they live in Wapwallopen, Pa with their two children, Cameron and Rosalyn. Amanda is a registered nurse and Michael works for UPS.
