J. Upton Hudson Jr.

1938 - 2025

J. Upton Hudson, Jr. passed away on September 22, 2025 surrounded by loving family, in Charlotte, NC. Born in 1938, in Tulsa, OK, Upton was the oldest child of Upton, Sr. and Lydia Beatrice Lindsey. He attended Will Rogers High School, class of 1956, where he was active in student government, rifle team, and The Vikings fraternity, and worked at the Tulsa Tribune. As one of the first in his extended family to attend college, Upton matriculated at Yale University where he graduated in 1960 with a BS in Engineering. After college, Upton was hired by U.S. Steel, where he remained for his entire career, rising to senior ranks in the sales department. His job relocated Upton to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, and most often the Pittsburgh area, where he settled after retirement on a beautiful wooded property. In 2022, Upton moved to Charlotte, NC to reside near family.

Upton had many hobbies, most of which centered around the outdoors, which he was introduced to at a young age during trips to the family cabin in Oklahoma and vacations in the Rocky Mountains. He loved fly fishing, deer hunting, skeet and trap, and wing shooting, owning several beloved bird dogs in his lifetime and making international hunting treks with friends. He was also an accomplished and mostly self-taught bluegrass musician, having first played guitar and autoharp with the Yale Hoot in college, and then later in his adult life with other friends. Other interests included golf, racket sports, skiing with his family during many trips to Colorado, participating in book clubs (he read thousands of books in his lifetime), cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and visiting with his grandchildren. He especially enjoyed introducing his hobbies to his loved ones. He placed great value on maintaining his friendships and staying in touch with dear friends and family even when distance drew them apart. Always craving intellectual stimulation, Upton remained active to the end at his new residence, Southminster, in Charlotte, where he participated in many social and cultural clubs and committees.

Upton is survived by daughters Hope Hudson (Howard Pollack) and Lydia Skardon (Chris); stepdaughter Karla Barnhill (Joe); stepson Anderson Rice (Nancy); niece Kristin Steel (John); nephew Hudson Deeter (Dori); grandchildren Sam and Caleb Pollack and Jake, Lindsey and Sanderson Skardon; and many grand nieces and nephews and step grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents and younger sister, Marcia Deeter (Kirby).

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Charlotte, NC. Memorial donations can be made to Ruffed Grouse Society – www.ruffedgrousesociety.org or Southminster Community Fund - www.southminster.org.