(DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)
We are saddened to learn of the death of James P. Hudson, father of Richard Hudson, a professional lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, on Jan. 24.
Hudson graduated from the University of Kentucky, where he had the honor of leading prayers at Rupp Basketball Arena when it opened. He was a teaching assistant at Purdue University while pursuing his master's degree before serving as a First Lieutenant at the computer lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. Hudson stayed on as a civilian rising to the rank of unit manager before retiring. He also taught mathematics as an adjunct at the University of Dayton. He was an active member of Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Dayton for nearly 60 years.
Hudson was a kind, loving and adventurous man. For their honeymoon, he and his first wife, Suzanne, Rick's mother, surreptitiously visited Russia in 1960. For his 18th birthday, he ziplined for the first time in his life. As an amateur magician, he entertained children in Dayton, and, once, on a train in China.
He is survived by his sons, Rick and Wade and his wife of more than six years, Polly (Pauline). He also is survived by Rick's wife, Sarah Richardson, also of the Department of Biological Sciences, their son, Jobson, and many family and friends.