Founder of McHugh Dealership Passes Away at 89

Muskingum County is remembering a well-known businessman who passed away Sunday.

89-year-old James “Butch” McHugh died from complications due to renal failure.

In December of 1963 McHugh and his friend Bob Hill who he worked with at Ford Motor Company, moved to Zanesville and opened McHugh Volkswagen dealership. He later added Porsche, Audi and Subaru.

In 1987 he became a Jeep dealer, later adding Dodge, Chrysler and Ram. This year the dealership celebrates 61 years of being a family owned business, runs by sons Tim and Mike, his daughter Kelly works in the finance department and son Kevin in sales. His grandson, Dakota, works in the service department.

The McHugh family enjoyed spending weekends traveling around Ohio attending horse shows and McHugh would spend a week at the county fair for vacation.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Muskingum County Canine Adoption Center or the Muskingum County Animal Shelter Society.