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 with out 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 AM. On the family farm in Barnesville. 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.
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