Edward Joseph Hudson

EDWARD JOSEPH HUDSON, 98, born on March 13, 1904, died on January 23, 2003. A long-time resident of Houston, Ed Hudson was born to Marion Dooley Hudson and Wilbur E. Hudson in Newark, New Jersey, the youngest child and only son in a family of five children. In 1926 Mr. Hudson graduated cum laude from Stevens Institute of Technology from which he held Mechanical Engineering and Doctor of Engineering degrees. He founded Hudson Engineering Corporation in Houston in 1933 and operated the company along with Hudson Products Corporation until its merger with J. Ray McDermott and Co., Inc. in 1969. Mr. Hudson continued as Chairman of the Board of McDermott for five years until his retirement in 1974. Between 1940 and 1969, Mr. Hudson organized and headed various corporations primarily to construct, own and operate gas processing plants and pipelines. These included Distillate Production Corporation, Acadia Corporation, Egan Oil Purchasing Company, Carthage Corporation, and Port Processing Corporation, all of which were merged into Hudson Gas and Oil Corporation, and sold to Continental Oil Company in 1963. Mr. Hudson served on the boards of McDermott, TransOcean Oil Corporation, Gulf Resources & Chemical Corporation, and Texas Commerce Bank. Mr. Hudson also developed and operated the Hudson Cattle Company on the Broken Triangle Ranch near Bay City, Texas, where he bred registered American Brahman cattle. While involved in ranching, Mr. Hudson also established a stable of thoroughbreds, and in conjunction with Lane's End Farm, he enjoyed breeding and racing horses in Kentucky. While successful in business, Mr. Hudson pursued many other interests. He served as a trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and he was an active participant in building the Republican Party in Texas. He spent many years flying his own Beechcraft airplanes. He enjoyed backgammon and baseball, and he loved birds, gardens and flowers, particularly orchids. Through his life, he was blessed with remarkable good health and energy, and until age 98 he continued to visit his office each day where he managed his post-retirement investments. Ed Hudson's interest in learning never wavered; he was an enthusiastic and generous contributor to education. Along with supporting Stevens Institute, he and his wife founded the Edward J. and Josephine G. Hudson Endowed Scholarship Fund at Baylor College of Medicine. To date the Hudson Scholarship fund has sponsored the training of more than 24 physician scientists through graduate and medical school. He also supported numerous other charitable organizations. Mr. Hudson is survived by his beloved wife, Josephine Gill Hudson, his two sons, Edward Joseph Hudson, Jr. and his wife, Lynne, of Houston, and Robert Lee Hudson and his wife, Becky, of Napa, California, five grandchildren, Sarah Hudson of New York, Wilhelmina Hudson of Houston, Edward Joseph Hudson, II, Claire Hudson, and William Campbell Hudson of Napa. He is also survived by his three stepsons, Christopher, Peter and Richardson Gill, and their families, all of San Antonio, by Stacy, Wade and Colin Head of Houston, and by his nephew, Edward Joseph Toohey, and his wife, Phyllis, of South Hampton, New York. Mr. Hudson is mourned and will be missed greatly by his staff at home, Michael Lance and Victoria Loehr, and by his office staff, Cynthia Hughes, Mary Harris, Janette Burch, Lynn Einkauf and their families. The Hudsons wish to thank Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, Dr. Mohammed Attar, Dr. John McCarthy, Dr. Peter Jones and the exceptional nursing staff of the CICU at Methodist Hospital for their dedication and loving care. A memorial service will be held for Mr. Hudson at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road on Monday, January 27 at 2 p.m. The Reverend Doctor Laurence A. Gipson will officiate. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Edward J. & Josephine G. Hudson Endowed Scholarship Fund, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030.