Brian McHugh

Brian McHugh of Tucson AZ, passed away peacefully on July 12, 2025 in Tucson.

Various memorial services and gatherings will be held in several states and countries to celebrate Brian’s life. Arrangements have been made with Avenidas Cremation & Burial.

Brian McHugh was born in Verdun, Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Madge Scott Angell and James McHugh. He married Dennis Much on March 7, 2013 in a civil ceremony in Seattle, Washington.

He was educated at Woodland Primary and Elementary School and Verdun High School. Brian graduated from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. After graduating from university, he served as pastor with the United Church of Canada. Brian joined the Order of the Holy Cross of the Episcopal Church) (OHC). In 1968; he was ordained a Deacon at OHC and then ordained a Priest in the Episcopal Church in 1973. Over the years that Brian spent in the Order of the Holy Cross, he went on many teaching missions in the United States, Canada, and Africa. After leaving the Order in 1983, he served with various parishes in Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California and New York as an Episcopal priest. Brian worked with the church as pastor, advocate and minister for all people, during the AIDS/HIV epidemic, fighting for equal rights for LGBTQ+ individuals. Throughout his life Brian served as a member of many community groups.

Brian was preceded in death by his father James McHugh and mother Madge Scott Angell McHugh. Brian is survived by his husband Dennis Much of Tucson, grandson Aleksander Michaud of Brooklyn, NY., brother Allan McHugh and sister-in-law Sheila McHugh of Markham, Ontario, nieces Jennifer McHugh and Merrin McHugh of Toronto , and first cousins Sandra McHugh and Lois McHugh Parker.