Dudley E. Van Ness

Dudley E. Van Ness passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 25, 2025. Services will be held Saturday, May 3, 11:00 a.m. at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church located at 6221 Main Street, Houston, TX. The following is Dudley's own writing.
Dudley retired from Houston Lighting & Power Company in 2015 after 47 years of faithful service. He was a trial lawyer for the company and held several management positions over the years. During a downturn in the Houston economy in the late 80's, Dudley created the company's Economic Development Department and over the next 30 years helped lead a ten-county economic recovery effort to diversify the region's industrial base and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and investment.
During this period, Dudley was named by Texas Governor Ann Richards to create and lead a statewide aerospace marketing effort, and he served as Executive Director of the Texas Space Commission locating thousands of jobs in every region of the state. He then travelled with Governor Rick Perry for ten years bringing national and international business development to the Houston region and throughout the state.
Dudley served on the board of directors of the Texas Industrial Development Commission. He helped start and was the initial chairman of the largest private sector statewide economic development organization, the Texas Marketing Team, which succeeded in developing statewide strategy for the expansion of local economies in communities throughout Texas. Before retirement, Dudley was elected a Fellow of the prestigious international Industrial Asset Management Council.
Born in Corpus Christi in South Texas on February 11, 1947, Dudley grew up in Ingleside on the northern tip of Corpus Christi Bay. He earned his Eagle Scout Rank with the Boy Scouts at the age of 12. He received his B.A. degree in Political Science from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
He is survived by his beloved wife Laura of 35 years; his two daughters, Tricia (Eric) Churchill, and Lori (Travis) Van Rum; six grandchildren, Eve (Matthew) Marlborough; Ellie, Patrick, and Gabrielle Churchill; and Dexter and Hazel Van Rum.
He was a 40-year student of the Holy Scriptures under the biblical teachings from the original languages of the Bible through Berachah Church in Houston. A devoted Christian, Dudley lived life full of joy, through his daily Bible studies growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. He lived a long life, and a good one. He will be missed.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Dudley, please visit our Tree Store.