Charles Martin Hughes, who taught math for 23 years at Essex Community College and was co-chairman of the Maryland State Tennis Tournament, died Monday of complications from colon cancer at Beverly Healthcare in Doylestown, Pa. He was 81.

Mr. Hughes published books on mathematics and on his experience in World War II, but his passion was tennis, his family said. He played until a year before his death, often beating players decades younger.

"He had a tremendous sense of humor, and as he was getting older, he would use that to his advantage on the tennis court," said daughter Molly Hughes of Charleston, S.C. "He would hobble out onto the court, and then beat players in their 20s and 30s."

Mr. Hughes and his wife, the former Evelyn Wilson, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year, were co-chairmen of the state tennis tournament for more than a dozen years in the 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Hughes also was a vice president of the Maryland Tennis Association and vice president of the Middle Atlantic Tennis Association.

Born and raised in Telford, Pa., Mr. Hughes received his bachelor's degree from Haverford College and his master's in education from Temple University. He served for three years in the Army Air Forces as a bomb sight technician and later wrote a novel, My Hands, based on the experience and published by a small house in Pennsylvania, his family said.

From the late 1950s through 1981, Mr. Hughes and his family lived in Parkville while he taught at Essex. He also served as registrar and director of data processing at the college. After his retirement, he and his wife moved to Ottsville, Pa., where he immediately built a tennis court in his back yard.

At Mr. Hughes' request, no funeral will be held.

Besides his wife and daughter, Mr. Hughes is survived by a son, Ray M. Hughes of Catonsville; another daughter, Gale White of Perry Hall; a brother, Max Hughes of Philadelphia; and two grandchildren.