Betty Hughes, 73; Former Times Travel Editor, Writer

Betty Hughes, a former assistant travel editor and writer for The Times, has died. She was 73.

Hughes died Sunday at St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, according to her daughter Megin. A cancer survivor since she was first diagnosed in her mid-30s, she succumbed to a melanoma that was diagnosed last November.

A native of Cleveland, Hughes started her career as a reporter and editor with the Cleveland Press in the 1960s. She later became a travel writer with her husband, Bill, and she eventually became travel editor for the Cleveland Press.

Betty Hughes joined The Times’ Travel section in 1984. She worked as an assistant editor of the weekly section and also the themed travel edition of the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

She wrote frequently for the Travel section, covering locales as diverse as the Caribbean, Utah and Nashville.

She retired from the paper in 1990.

She is survived by her daughter and her husband. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Pierce Bros. Valhalla, 10621 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society.