Hugh was the eldest of 3 sons, born to Frank and Maureen Devlin in a small village called Newarthill in the Steel Town of Motherwell in Scotland (and he hailed from the same small town as Tammy and Christopher Kane).
His path to becoming a solicitor and ultimate business advisor (after degrees at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities during the 1980’s) were forged at Drummonds Solicitors, then at British Linen Bank in Edinburgh and later in Withers London, and eventually his own Delightfull company.
We all grew up ensconced in the Catholic Church, coupled with my dad’s entrepreneurial bent whose businesses often featured some affiliation with the Church (which included a Parish Travel Agency and owning Coaches which seemed to have a fixed destination to Lourdes grotto for the parish pilgrims).
From an early age Hugh read books at a ferocious rate and this trait never changed throughout his life. In his pre-teen years, he enjoyed grilling the many priests who visited our home, asking them to explain their views on theological matters and often unnerving them in the process.
Hugh’s facility with older ladies appeared early. When Kevin was born, Hugh accompanied our dad on one of the pilgrimage trips to Lourdes. Most of the attendees were older women and nine-year-old Hugh was a hit. He was pretty livid when he returned home and found that I had been given a Chopper bike as my recompense for the arrival of my new brother, a much better deal.
Hugh’s greatest motivation in life was to help people and to solve problems (mainly people problems). He demonstrated this at an early age with me, when I had ignored our mother’s advice and took bubble gum to bed with me, only to awaken in the morning with my head stuck to the pillow. In his pyjamas, Hugh leapt to my aid (to spare me the naughty step) by commandeering the household scissors and sculpted a much-edgier look from the 70’s page-boy cut I sported at the time.
Hugh’s eye for fashion was always prevalent growing up, where he styled me in my teenage years, with me claiming credit up until I got married, after which the myth dissolved when Hugh stopped styling me. At university, his Law Society Halloween party outfits were a source of wonder (recalling the year he dressed up as Adam Ant but ended the night throwing up over a passing police car having been submerged in a vat of wine most of the evening, dooking for apples!). He also styled Kevin from when he was an infant and beyond; Kevin fondly remembers trips with Hugh when he was about six to C&A and later to a kid’s designer boutique called Strawberry Fields in Glasgow for all his ‘special occasion’ outfits, for Christmas, Easter and parties. So, we all have Hugh to blame for our taste in designer clothes, as he continued the tradition with his nieces and nephews, showering them with his favourite designer clothes and merchandise. All of Hugh’s gift-giving was thoughtful and generous, and always exquisitely wrapped.
His steely negotiation and conflict management skills were also fostered in his teenage years when our father and uncle acquired a hotel in an area of Central Scotland akin to the Wild West … the type of clientele who frequented the public bar I think cemented Hugh’s decision to avoid Criminal Law (despite his aptitude in managing such patrons, as he could strike fear into the hardiest of characters with a dose of his cutting, observational wit)!
His teenage years working in the hotel also boosted his desire to help people where he continued to be in high demand helping elderly women: be it fishing the gran-of-the-brides’ false teeth from the
food waste after she left them on her dinner plate, or rescuing an elderly lady literally stuck on a toilet pan and in danger of missing the speeches, or helping the entire OAP Ladies’ Bridge Club back to their feet during their rather tipsy Christmas Ceilidh which went awry after a multiple pile-up on the dance floor. He also memorably assisted in delivering the baby of a very drunk bride, which is a highly probable claim in Lanarkshire during the 80’s.
We’ve always known Hugh to be our protector, as he naturally looked after people. Hugh was always the most kind, considerate and generous brother (and person) any of us will ever meet in our lifetime.
Our dad was also a formidable character, and Hugh was the only person who could manage him (which I believe helped hone his negotiation skills from an early age). Hugh knew how to deal with our dad in a way that even bishops and priests couldn’t manage. Hugh’s dad-whispering skills were honed during our school years where he somehow managed to ensure Kevin got to his school ski trips (including luggage and transportation) despite Kevin being grounded by dad almost his entire teenage life. Hugh also exercised his whispering skills to ensure we kept the spaniel pup he acquired from a neighbour. His positive way with people always seemed to turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one.
Throughout our lives Hugh has always been there for his family and friends, and most often in discrete behind-the-scenes fashion … be it helping Kevin when he moved to London, supporting through difficult times, helping him set up business or providing sage legal advice. There are countless examples of his care and support for people, not least evidenced by Hugh and Sarah funding our late mum’s 24x7 care to allow her to remain at home in her final years, and to ease the burden on both Kevin and I in Scotland.
No matter how busy or in-demand he was, Hugh would always be generous in his time for you … a great listener and confidante, which was a key part of his problem-solving prowess. He never judged, condemned, or abandoned anyone in their time of need, but was always there with a solution.
Like our dad, Hugh also loved undertaking projects, and would see things through from inception to completion (leaving the rest of us in awe). Transforming Hugh and Sarah’s villa in Tuscany was one of his last big projects he completed and even Covid couldn’t stop him from dazzling everyone with the results.
He carved out a very successful career in combining his strengths and passion together which made him the “Go-To Guy” in Fashion and the Luxury Goods sector, as he had the unique ability to fuse his legal and business knowledge with his passion and knowledge of Fashion and the Arts. His success makes complete sense, when you layer on top of this his inner desire to also help people (and also his ability to identify complementary skillsets and fostering collaboration), then it is no wonder he gained everyone’s trust, respect and friendship throughout his career.
Everyone is devastated over losing Hugh so early, not least Sarah and his wider family. He is the most inspirational husband, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, son, friend and advisor we are likely to meet in our lifetime, which adds to the deep loss we all feel. Hugh’s boundless energy and focus came (not really through an inner drive to be successful) but the pleasure he received from helping people. There will never be anyone like him. He had such a profoundly positive impact on our lives that the loss from his passing is equally as profound.