Services have been set for the two men who died in a motorcycle accident south of Martin early Saturday, Oct. 12.
The funeral for UTM student Logan Dale Hughes, 23, of Newbern, was held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the chapel of Johnson-Williams Funeral Home in Newbern with the burial to follow in Fairview Cemetery. Visitation was held from 5-8 Monday night.
Hughes was a senior Computer Science major and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He is being widely remembered on Facebook as a loving and cheerful man who will be sorely missed.
“We love and miss Logan more than we can say, but we’re trying to celebrate his life rather than focus on his death,” said Amanda Caudle, a senior Communications major from Memphis.
“He was an amazing person and he wouldn’t want us to be sad.”
A public memorial service will be held for Daniel Fitzgerald, 46, of Sharon, general manager of the Opera House restaurant in Martin. The service is scheduled from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the restaurant at 142 S. Lindell St.
“We have truly lost a great person and friend of Martin,” said Dr. Joe Adcock, who with his wife, Edith, owns the Opera House and The Stables in downtown Martin.
“Daniel was much more than an employee. He and my daughter, Olivia, envisioned the revitalization of Martin and believed the Opera House would begin the rebirth of historic downtown Martin. He worked tirelessly toward that goal. Daniel was not only a boss to his staff but their friend, confidant, and psychologist. He will be missed by all of Martin.”
Hughes also worked at the Opera House as a server. His mother reported him as missing to the Martin Police Department at 5:28 p.m. Saturday after neither Hughes nor Fitzgerald came in to work, said MPD Chief David Moore. The two men apparently had not been seen since leaving The Stables in Martin at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Moore said.
After the call from Hughes’ mother, the department launched a comprehensive missing-persons investigation. An officer was sent to talk to SAE members at their fraternity house on Lee Street, and MPD issued a BOLO (be on the lookout for) bulletin for both men at 8:04 p.m., Moore said. At 10:47 p.m., he said, MPD was notified that the accident site and the men had been found.
According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Hughes and Fitzgerald were traveling south on Parkers Levee Road, about 5 miles south of Martin, on a 1999 Honda VF7. The accident occurred when, while negotiating a left curve, the motorcycle went off the right-hand side of the road, went down an embankment, and hit a tree. Both men were thrown from the motorcycle; Hughes was wearing a helmet and Fitzgerald was not wearing one, according to the THP report.
Hughes’ obituary shows that he is survived by his parents, Tony and Debbie Hughes, and a sister, Megan Marie Hughes, all of Newbern; his grandmother, Lula Hughes of Puryear; his grandfather, Harold Dicus of Paris; and his girlfriend, Caitlin Moore of Manchester. Hughes was preceded in death by his grandfather, Norman Hughes. His grandmother, Marie Dicus, died Sunday, Oct. 13. Pallbearers will be Matthew Ammons, Austin Gaskins, Cody Moore, Seth Whitson, Allen Farmer and Ethan Dicus.
To leave an online condolence, go to www.johnson-
