Forty-five years ago today, Richard J. Hughes, a former two-term governor and the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, wrote to Gov. Brendan Byrne to congratulate him on his silver wedding anniversary. The letter captures a personal moment between two governors known for their extraordinary sense of humor.
Hughes’s married his first wife, Mary, in 1935; they were raising their four young children when she died of a heart attack in 1950, at age 38. In 1955, he married Elizabeth Murphy, known as Betty, a 33-year—old widow – her husband, Capt. William M. Murphy, was a U.S. Air Force pilot killed during a takeoff in the Azores – with three children. Their blended family, which included former Morris County Prosecutor and gubernatorial candidate Michael Murphy – later expanded when Dick and Betty Hughes had three children together, including Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.
Byrne and First Lady Jean Featherly Byrne were married on June 27, 1953. After serving as executive secretary (now called chief of staff) to Gov. Robert Meyner and as Essex County Prosecutor, Byrne was named to Hughes’ cabinet as president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Gov. William Cahill nominated him to serve as a Superior Court judge. Hughes was governor from 1962 to 1970 and chief justice from 1973 to 1979.
The Hughes’ were married for 28 years before Betty Hughes died in 1983 at age 61. The Byrne’s divorced after 39 years of marriage.
The two governors came from political families. Hughes’ father, Richard P. Hughes, was the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton’s warden and the Burlington County Democratic Chairman. Francis P. Byrne, the future governor’s father, was a West Orange Town Commissioner.
