Gary L. Hudson

Gary L. Hudson was born August 20, 1940, in Fairbury Nebraska to Velma Lenetta Janssen Hudson (1921-1982) and Cloyd Abraham Hudson (1917-2001). His younger brother and only sibling, Monty Bill Hudson (1949-1994), was born 9 years later.

His wife and lifelong partner, Betty Jo (Elizabeth Josephine Buckelew Hudson) (1943-2021) passed a few years ago, a loss he just couldn't find his way around. The loss became more profound with time.

He leaves behind: his three children Sheri Hudson, Kurt Hudson, Gary (Craig) Hudson and Craig's wife, Lori; five grandsons, Christian, Cole, Connor, Cody and Austin; and one great grandson - Dallas 😊.

Gary's Mom and Dad brought him to Roundup as a young boy. He went to primary school in the old primary school now repurposed. He went to high school in Roundup but had little time for formal education. His ambition to make his life something special through determination and taking risks was strong.

Gary managed to circumvent high school to roughneck on land rigs when he was seventeen. The pay checks often sat in his mother's kitchen cabinet uncashed until she made him bank them or cash them. It was the adventure of the work that drew him. He was of a slight build so could get into places bigger men could not. He drove the crews to work in remote locations, through mud and snow, and soon was a Driller. He put together his crews from the men in the many Roundup bars that were open at that time.

He also met Betty when he was seventeen. Her parents bought the bakery in Roundup and so by association he had a free ticket to unlimited hot fresh rolls. He would remember till his very elderly years the pleasure of eating untold fresh rolls and never adding a pound of body weight (food was always a great source of pleasure and contentment for him). In August 1962 they were married and shortly after Sheri arrived, then Craig, then Kurt.

In the early years Betty Jo with the three kids in the back seat followed Gary across Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming pursuing work, drilling for oil. In the 70's they tried for a short while to have a more 'normal' life while Gary trained to be a welder in Billings and worked as a diesel truck mechanic.

Then, Betty saw an advertisement in the Billings Gazette asking for men to work on offshore oil rigs. Jim Pickering flew in from California to interview Gary, and our lives changed forever. Gary flew down to train in the Gulf of Mexico before being sent to work in the Persian Gulf on a drilling ship as a Driller. His family was sent to Malta in the Mediterranean. And so began some 20 years of amazing adventures across the globe we all feel so very fortunate to have experienced as a privilege of Mom and Dad's sense of adventure and courage.

Gary described unbelievably beautiful sunrises and sunsets he'd seen rise and fall over the many seas and oceans. The brightness and beauty of the night sky with millions of stars shimmering from the sky above the open ocean. The playful dolphins, the sea turtles, the sea snakes...the freedom. It was the world he seemed to always know – though he would not hesitate to tell people when they asked that he was from "Roundup, Montana, population 800".

His lived experiences were the stuff few would have the heart to embrace, but the adventures propelled him through life. He was driven across the desert to Alexandria, Egypt to take a barge to work before there was an airport built in Alexandria. He watched from a hotel room in Bombay one morning as workers collected bodies of those who had died on the street the night before.

He lived through the risks of working off the coasts of Somalia and Nigeria. He recalled being stopped by patrols, being told of a bridge where human meat was sold and being grateful one day when his helicopter landed safely on the ship albeit with a few bullet holes.

He was held in an Iranian prison for a short while in 1978 following a death on the ship for which though he was not responsible he was the supervisor on deck when it occurred. I remember the fear of knowing what the consequences could be for him, and the gratitude when he was allowed to fly home to us in Malta.

He returned to work the next crew change. He never missed work and had a seemingly unbreakable work ethic throughout his career. A trait all three of his children have taken onboard.

His work took him to the most amazing places at a time when the world was a little freer, and Americans were mostly welcome. His numerous passports full of stamps and stickers with the many added pages still has a valid permanent residency visa for Indonesia, and an expired permanent residency for Nigeria.

He earned his seaman's papers and skippered ships through the Panama Canal and across from the US to work in the Persian Gulf. And he loved the Australian sun. He just loved the sun.

His wicked sense of humor was a charm and a power. He always enjoyed a good joke, especially when it was at someone else's expense! Uncle Monty would say that by the time you saw the twinkle in Dad's blue eyes, it was already too late. He'd gotten you.

Through it all he avoided the cold waters of the North Sea, recalling those winters he worked in Montana. But, when the party was over, Gary and Betty Jo returned home to our house in Klein to care for Grampa Hudson (Gary's Dad).

In retirement they worked with enthusiasm to refresh and renovate the home to be a tight weatherproof nest. Betty cooking the many recipes she found on Google while Gary exercised in his home gym and watched old westerns on TV.

Dad showed us through his example to be fearless in the face of risk and face challenges with a sense of humor. Later in his years he had demons he continued to battle but there is no denying the magnitude of the life he lived.

Dad was an enigma. Sometimes, the people who make it hard for us to understand them leave the biggest hole in our hearts and give us the most to contemplate when they go.

Thank you to my Dad's neighbors, Mike and Anita for caring for Dad in his last years, Angie (the "mail lady") for her kind support, young Ireland for just being sweet and to Steve – my Mom and Dad's neighbor for so many years.

We will be having a graveside service August 24th 10am at the Roundup Cemetery with refreshments to follow in Klein. We look forward to welcoming family and friends.

Warm regards - Sheri, Kurt and Craig.