Fred Hudson

Funeral services for longtime local artist and musician, Fred Edwin Hudson, 89, will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 20th, at First Christian Church, 520 CY Avenue. The Reverend Cynthia McBride will officiate. Burial will follow at Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville, Wyoming. Visitation will be from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19th, at Bustard's Funeral Home. Mr. Hudson died Saturday, October 15th, at Central Wyoming Hospice of natural causes. He was born July 3, 1922, in Lander, Wyoming, to Edwin T. and Gertrude (Hovey) Hudson. He was raised in that area and attended Lander Valley High School before enlisting in the United States Cavalry at the age of seventeen. He was later honorably discharged then joined the U. S. Navy in 1942 after Pearl Harbor. He served on the U.S.S. Manila Bay in the Pacific and received a purple heart when his ship was struck by a Japanese kamikaze plane. He and Lander-native, Shirley Clark, were married on April 21, 1945, in San Diego, California. Fred and Shirley moved to Casper in 1955 where Fred worked as a draftsman for Sinclair Oil & Gas Company and later for Northern Utilities, Inc., where he designed the Northern Utilities logo. During this time his artistic talents began to emerge, and he discovered his passion for painting. In the early 1970's he established Fred Hudson Studios where he instructed many students in the art of realistic western landscape painting both personally and through videotaped instruction. He and Shirley traveled the western United States presenting his unique painting instruction program, which featured his pre-mixed paints and video instruction. This program was later aired on Wyoming Public Television. Another of Fred's passions was music. He began playing drums at ten years of age, and was a member of his family's dance band, Hudson All-String Serenaders, that played at many Saturday night dances throughout Fremont County. The family band also had a weekly radio program for several years on Lander's local radio station. Throughout his life he played drums with several groups. He was best known as the drummer of the local country-western band, Jim Cox and the Outlaws. Fred was actively involved in the Casper community where he helped organize The Casper Boys' Club. He was also a Casper College T-Bird Booster and a deacon in The First Christian Church. He is survived by his wife, Shirley and children Monica and Calvin Decker, and Shannon and Steve Lunsford. His grandchildren are Rae and Greg Biggs, Ty and Mary Lunsford, Cassie and Derek Amadio, and Lindsay and Keith Davis. He has four great grandchildren, John and Alexander Biggs, Isabella Knutson, and Elijah Lunsford. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to The First Christian Church.

Visitation

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 3:00pm - 7:00pm

Bustard's Funeral Home West Chapel

600 CY Avenue

Casper, Wyoming 82601