Harold Lawrence “Larry” “DadDad” Hudson

On October 24, 2023, less than a week after celebrating his 89th birthday,
Harold Lawrence “Larry” “DadDad” Hudson left this earth to join his only
son, Alan Lawrence Hudson, on the bank of the most beautiful fishing hole
they ever experienced. Those who knew the two anglers best can easily
imagine the whopper storytellings they are now hosting.
Larry was born a storyteller. Perhaps it was his way of keeping up with his
older siblings. The last born of Robert Hoge Hudson and Esthal McGraw’s
seven children, he always had the attention of a large family audience. But
one significant family member was missing from his life way too early. His
father died of pneumonia just 18 months after his birth, leaving his mother
to raise her seven children alone. Knowing he was raised without a father
makes the job he did fathering his own children, Alan and Karen, even more
impressive.
After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1952 (Beckley, WV), Larry
worked as a radio-repairman at Doy Radio & Television Service (Beckley, WV).
In 1954 he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as Fire Control Technician on the
U.S.S. WREN. After completing his service in the Armed Forces he returned to
his beloved West Virginia where he eventually began working at the Beckley
West Virginia Manufacturing Plant. There he met Janice Marie Blankenship,
his future wife, who was also employed there. In 1959 the two married, a
bond that would last until his death 64 years later.
Soon after his marriage, Larry went to work for National Cash Register
(NCR). A collaboration that would last over 30 years and take him and his
family to numerous areas of the country including Ohio, Connecticut, and
South Carolina before settling down in Albany, Georgia for over a decade.
Once his children finished high school, he and Janice went on the road again
with NCR making stops in Jacksonville, and Tallahassee, Florida.
In 1990, upon his retirement from NCR, Larry and Janice chose to make one
final move, settling on a small picturesque farm outside Barnesville,
Georgia. Soon after, their son Alan joined them in Buggytown and planted the
seed on their small ten acre farm that would over the next thirty years
blossom into a farm that today encompasses over 250 acres, and is known as
Southern Nursery Products (SNP).While NCR took Larry and his family from his
beloved West Virginia home, his love affair with the state, particularly the
area around his home in Piney View, never waned for him.
Larry is preceded in death by his parents and son, and all of his siblings,
brothers James, Robert and Charles Hudson and sisters Lillian Hudson White,
Evelyn Hudson Elliott, and Virginia Hudson Lodmell.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Janice Blankenship Hudson
(Barnesville, GA), daughter Karen Hudson (Lexington, KY), grand-daughters
Erin Hudson Looper (Easley, SC) and Shannon Marie Hudson (Woodstock, GA),
daughter-in-law, Sandra Hudson (Barnesville, GA), son-in-law Jameson Looper,
and grandson Weston Looper (both of Easley, SC).
Larry will be laid to rest on the family farm on Friday, October 27, at
11:00 a.m. Dr. Jeff Morgan will officiate.
If you saw Larry driving about town in his GMC pick-up-truck, you knew he
was never alone. He went no where without his trusted dogs. He loved them
all, but one, Evie Rose, held a special place in his heart. Once abused,
over a long period, Evie Rose was nursed back to health by Dolly Goodpuppy,
before being adopted by Larry and Janice. In lieu of flowers, it would have
delighted dad if memorial contributions were sent to Dolly Goodpuppy
Society, P.O. Box 361, Barnesville, GA 30204, giving them the ability to
save many more Evie Roses.
Fletcher-Day Funeral Home of Thomaston is in charge of all arrangements.
Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at
www.fletcherdayfuneralhome.com.