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In September, 1943, while in New York at McGuinness's Bar, Sheepshead Bay, Gerry met Gloria Grant, and then saw her again at the same location the day after Christmas, three months later. This time he went home with her and her sister Peggy to meet her family. On April 14, 1944, they were married in the Bronx, New York.
Gerry was known and loved for his sense of humor, his devotion to his family, and his amazing ability to fix broken items with whatever happened to be on hand at the time (this practice, we affectionately labeled "Gerry-rigging"). Some of Gerry's favorite activities over the years have been camping, rock tumbling, reading books about the sea, and watching western movies. He is survived by his wife Gloria, five of his children, ten grandchildren, and three great grand children. He is dearly loved and missed. Memories of Gerry Hudson If you have memories of Gerry you would like to share with others on this page, please email them to me and I will post them below. If you have written something on your own blog, send me the link to the blog and I will paste it below. Check this page often over the next few months, as I will be adding more stuff as it comes in. Margaret Garcia-Couoh (granddaughter)
Although my father was born in California, his roots were in the Ozarks of southern Missouri. In June,1974, I had the pleasure of taking a trip back to the Ozarks with my dad, and meeting many of his relatives. One morning, while staying at my grandfather's house in Aurora, I stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal from the cupboard. My dad walked in to find me chomping away at what appeared to be a bowl of Raisin Bran. "David," he said, "That's not Raisin Bran, and those aren't raisins... they're boll weevils!" I had wondered why the raisins tasted so salty! Apparently my grandfather tended to keep food in the cupboards a lot longer than he should have.  Dorothy Hughes (daughter)Some memories from Dorothy, child number 6 (always their "baby")... As a child, the first thing I think of is camping trips. That he always set up camp while he let us run off and play. I don't know how old the boys were before he enlisted their help, but I don't think I ever was made to help, which I didn't appreciate till I was older. The "camper's kitchen" was always at the end of the picnic table, a made-by-Gerry portable cabinet with little drawers and compartments. As an adult, my favorite memories are his interaction with my youngest, Nathan, who was born when we lived with my parents. After we moved to Loyalton, he visited and loved the area. One time Scully (the dog) climbed up on his lap to avoid taking a pill - he got the giggles while continuing to read or at least try to read his paper. Speaking of giggles, that's how I remember Dad's face when I think of him, his classic laughter stance: Chin down, eyes squinted tight, shoulders moving up and down till a few giggles squeaked out once he got some air.  Peggy Vidaurri (daughter)One of the most magical places on Earth was my father's workshop. After the garage on Gunn Avenue was converted to an "in-law" quarters for my grandfather, my dad built a shed in the backyard where he had a place to do all his puttering, tinkering, and "Gerry-rigging". The shed was always neatly organized and everything in it had a place and a purpose. He had a myriad of jars with every size nail, bolt, nut, or screw, all, of course, neatly labeled. He had paint cans from everything ever painted in or around the house. One time he decided to paint the bar that he built in the backyard. Being a bit tight with spending money, he decided to use leftover paint instead of purchasing new paint. The only problem was he mixed several colors to get enough paint. The result was the most putrid color green ever. He liked it, but my mom couldn't stand it and made him repaint the bar a more neutral color. Everywhere you looked you would see bits and pieces of various electrical equipment. You would see extension cords spliced together out of different recognizable electric cords from old appliances that you thought were long gone. There was his rotary sander that he had made out of a discarded food processor. I loved his rock tumbler! He took my mom's old washing machine and rigged it to tumble his precious rock collection. He was a major recycler before it was politically correct to do so. Even as a small child, I knew my dad could fix anything. When something broke or didn't fit together like it was supposed to, he had this knack for looking at it, scratching his head a few times, gathering a few saved materials, and quietly digging in. He didn't always fix things conventionally, but they always worked.  Briana Hudson-Rice (granddaughter)I have so many wonderful memories of my Grandpa Gerry. My earliest childhood memory involves him and his famous line, "Gimme some sugar," which was always followed by lots of grandpa kisses complete with scratchy mustache. As a child, I was constantly fascinated by his rock collection. I loved to stand in his workshop and watch him polish his rocks with his "gerry-rigged" polisher. He made me necklaces of polished rock that I always wore proudly. I attribute my love of collecting to him. His other most famous line for me is, "You're my favorite (insert age here) granddaughter." Whatever age I happened to be, that's what he'd say. My proudest moment was when Grandpa attended church to hear me sing "Amazing Grace" when I was about 12 years old. He told me my performance brought tears to his eyes, because it reminded him of watching his mother sing in church when he was a child. During his last days, I had to complete a family history project for school. I took this opportunity to interview Grandpa while he was still in the hospital. When asked if there was anything "exciting" in our family history, he replied, "Your great-grandfather was a moonshiner!" This was, of course, followed by a wink and then his signature giggle. You've got to love those corny Grandpa one-liners that he had so many of! Finally, I must share that at Grandpa's memorial service, I proudly went up to the altar to speak wearing my comfy slippers. I believe this is because of Grandpa. I can see him now in his jeans and denim jacket at my mom's wedding reception. It must have been the hillbilly coming out in me. So much of who I am is made of what I learned from him. I feel so blessed to have known him for 26 years. Thanks Grandpa! I love you and miss you already. |
Gerald Dean Hudson
Gerald Dean Hudson, the only son of Mirl and Ruth Hudson, was born on August 22, 1923, in Montebello, California. He graduated from Montebello High School in 1940, and attended Fullerton Junior College for one and a half years. On December 10, 1941, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gerry enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, and reported for duty on January 2, 1942. He took a train to Treasure Island, San Francisco, where he received boot camp training for several months. His first assignment lasted eighteen months as a radar operator aboard the 
Gerry continued to serve in the Coast Guard for five years, aboard various cutters such as the Woodrush, Taney, Sorrell, Dexter, and Winnebago. A good deal of his time during the war was spent in and around Greenland as part of the 
Gerry and Gloria had six children between 1945 and 1961: Dennis Michael, Gerald Dean Jr., Margaret (Peggy) Rita, Robert Grant, David John, and Dorothy Marie. After his discharge, Gerry went to work for the Bankers Trust Company in New York, and then moved to Whittier, California in 1948. He has worked over the years as an insurance adjuster for such firms as Allstate, Orange Coast, and 
Dave Hudson (son)