George Raymond Hudson

Senator George Raymond Hudson, known as "Ray" to his family and friends, passed away at 4:56 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. Ray was born on July 31, 1919, in Weedsport, NY. He was the youngest of four children, born to George Leon Hudson and Florence Hopkins Hudson. In 1937-38, Ray worked for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, to earn money for college, and he attended Dennison University, Granville, OH, from 1938 to 1942. He was president of his college fraternity, as well as president of the 1942 graduating class. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and ODK, and 30 years after graduation, he was chosen by the university as an Outstanding Alumnus. Ray served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945, where he earned the rank of Second Lieutenant. He served as a tester in a psychological testing unit that evaluated pilots, gunners, and navigators for psychological fitness to serve overseas. After the war he attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, from which he graduated with a degree in graphic arts in 1947. He produced a great number of paintings and sketches, was a masterful letter artist, graphic designer, and photographer, and for several years produced a popular cartoon strip, called "Travelin' Ted," for the Chicago Tribune. In 1948, he co-founded an advertising agency, later called the George Ray Hudson Advertising Company, which he operated until 1985. Ray was active in the American Legion and was commander of Legion Post 250 in Hinsdale, IL, and district commander of the 4th District, an area covering four counties in suburban Chicago. He was a longtime member of Toastmasters. In 1967, he was one of the founding members of the Church on the County Line, which is now called Faith Fellowship Church, in Oak Brook. Ray was a Republican precinct committee for most of the 30 years, between 1968 to 1998. In the late 1970s he helped found Taproot, a local conservative political-action organization. Ray was first elected to the Illinois State Legislature in 1970, where he served as a state representative from 1971 to 1986. After losing a congressional bid in 1984, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1986, where he served until 1994. During his more than 22 years in the Illinois legislature, he received numerous awards for his legislative achievements from such organizations as the Heritage Foundation, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Farm Bureau, and Caterpillar, Inc. Ray was married to Barbara Anderson Hudson, of Chicago, for 69 1/2 years. Having met in college, they were married in 1942. Ray is survived by three children, Susan Hudson Fox (married to Thomas Kenneth Fox, Pleasanton. CA), Richard Frederick. Hudson (married to Cheryl Pearce Hudson, Star, ID), and Robert Raymond Hudson (married to Shelley Townsend Hudson, Ada, MI); nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; a nephew, Robert Frederick Hudson (married to Patricia Hudson, Norfolk, VA); and a niece, Margaret Jean Bankos (married to David Bankos, Midlothian, VA). Ray was 92 when he died. A visitation will be held at Gibbons Elliston Funeral Home, 60 S. Grant St., Hinsdale, IL 60521, on Friday, Feb. 17, 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be held at Faith Fellowship Church, 3724 N. Washington St., Oak Brook, IL 60523 (in Fullersburg, behind the Graue Mill), on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 11 a.m., preceded by a half-hour in-church visitation from 10 to 10:30 a.m. The burial will take place in the cemetery behind the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Faith Fellowship Church. Info., 630-323-0275.