SR0648 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois State Senator George Raymond Hudson, who passed away on February 10, 2012; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson was born on July 31, 1919, in Weedsport, New York; his parents were George Leon Hudson and Florence Hopkins Hudson; he married Barbara Anderson Hudson in 1942; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson worked for Eastman Kodak in Rochester from 1937 to 1938 to earn money for college; he attended Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, from 1938 to 1942; during college, he was president of his college fraternity and president of the 1942 graduating class; he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and ODK, and was chosen by the university as an Outstanding Alumnus 30 years after graduation; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945, where he earned the rank of second lieutenant; during the war, he served as a tester in a psychological testing unit that evaluated pilots, gunners, and navigators for psychological fitness to serve overseas; and

WHEREAS, After World War II, George Hudson attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he graduated with a degree in graphic arts in 1947; he produced a great number of paintings and sketches and was well known as a masterful letter artist, graphic designer, and photographer; for several years, he 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; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1970; after serving as a State Representative from 1971 to 1986, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he served until 1994; during his more than 22 years in the General Assembly, 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.; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson was active in the American Legion as commander of Legion Post 250 in Hinsdale and district commander of the 4th District, an area covering 4 counties in suburban Chicago; he was a long-time member of Toastmasters; in 1967, he was one of the founding members of the Church on the County Line (now Faith Fellowship Church) in Oak Brook; he served as a Republican precinct committee for most of the 30 years between 1968 and 1998; in the late 1970s, he helped found Taproot, a local conservative political-action organization; and

WHEREAS, George Hudson is survived by his wife, Barbara; his children, Susan Hudson Fox (Thomas Kenneth Fox), Richard Frederick Hudson (Cheryl Pearce Hudson), and Robert Raymond Hudson (Shelley Townsend Hudson); his 9 grandchildren; his 15 great-grandchildren; his nephew, Robert Frederick Hudson (Patricia Hudson); and his niece, Margaret Jean Bankos (David Bankos); therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of George Raymond Hudson; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of George Hudson as an expression of our sympathy.