John William Hudson Jr.

Post date: Jan 14, 2013 10:18:29 PM

Mr. John Hudson was a crucial part of developing Danville / Boyle County Scholarship. I got to know John through my father John Lockhart who also believed in this scholarship program. Mr. Hudson will be missed but not forgotten thanks to all of his hard work.

Brian Lockhart

___________________________________________________________________

John William Hudson Jr., of Danville, died Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013.

Born Oct. 26, 1940, in Greeneville, Tenn., he was the son of the late John William and Margorie Cates Hudson. He also was predeceased by his grandparents, Keith Peak and Mary Sherfey Hudson and Arthur Alexander and Lola Burke Cates.  

John attended public schools in Jefferson City, Tenn., and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee where he was a three year letterman on the football team. He went on to play in the Senior Bowl and the Blue-Grey Bowl prior to joining the BC Lions professional football team in Vancouver, British Columbia.

John retired from a career in education, most recently as superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville. He also was superintendent of the Central North Carolina School for the Deaf and the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls, S.D. As a teacher and coach he led the Tennessee School for the Deaf to national championships in football and track and field. He also taught at the Louisiana School for the Deaf. After retirement, he served two terms as magistrate on the Boyle County Fiscal Court. 

John was a member, deacon and elder of The Presbyterian Church, past president of the Danville Rotary Club and a past member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. During the Kentucky Bicentennial Celebration in 1992, John was chosen to portray Gov. Isaac Shelby and rode a horse into many Kentucky towns during the celebration. Along with many other civic activities, John was instrumental in the founding of the Dollars for Scholars scholarship program.

John is survived by his wife of 51 years, Charlotte Adams Hudson; a daughter, Bechinger Hudson Martin of Murfreesboro, Tenn; two sons, John William Hudson III (Shelley) and Thomas Wyatt Hudson, both of Nashville; five sisters, Jane Evelyn Hudson, Mary Lola Skeen (David), Lillian Elizabeth Gardner, and Marjorie Keith Helton (Les), all of Jefferson City, Tenn., and Julie Ann Warren of Centreville, Va.; and two granddaughters, Bechinger Taylor Martin and Sydney Charlotte Martin.

The funeral service will be 4 p.m. Saturday at The Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Jim Stewart and the Rev. Tommy Taylor will officiate.  

Visitation will be 2-4 p.m. Saturday prior to the service. 

A memorial stone will be placed in Rocky Valley Baptist Church Cemetery, Flat Gap, Tenn. 

Memorial donations are suggested to the Danville-Boyle County Scholarship Foundation Inc. (formerly known as Dollars For Scholars), 141 N. Third St., Danville, Ky. 40422, or the charity of one’s choice. The online memorial and guestbook is provided at www.stithfuneralhome.net.