James A. Hudgins
December 21, 2016 at 5:20 p.m.
By -
A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Bessemer, Ala.
He was born in Matthews, Va., in 1948, to James Sr. and Betty Lou Forrest Hudgins. The grandson of a Panama Canal pilot, he retired from work as a supervising dredge operator, maintaining the canal. After beginning work there at 17, he was one of the last Americans to work on the Panama Canal. Those skills transferred well to his time in the Navy during the Vietnam War when he was serving as a SeaBee doing infrastructure work in Thailand.
After retirement, he and his wife, Estrella (and daughters Maria de Guadalupe and ?Maria Jose) settled in the Birmingham, Ala., area, where he continued to use his skills operating the largest cranes available.
He was active with the local American ?Legion post, which he enjoyed doing with his eldest daughter, Maria, a drill sergeant with the Army.
As an accomplished guitar player, he volunteered his playing and singing for his local Catholic parish, even singing at the EWTN Chapel in Irondale, Ala. He was a lover of a long conversation and a good joke, and many will miss his company and his large and generous heart.
In addition to his family in Alabama, he is survived by his sons, David and Daniel, and their mother, Diane Hudgins; stepmother, Rose Hudgins; sisters, Elena (spouse Greg) Kiley, Debra (spouse ?John B.) Lowe and Lisa Correira; stepfather, Don Correira; and six grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents and beloved brother, Billy Hudgins, who shared service in the Vietnam War as a highly decorated veteran.
A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Bessemer, Ala.
He was born in Matthews, Va., in 1948, to James Sr. and Betty Lou Forrest Hudgins. The grandson of a Panama Canal pilot, he retired from work as a supervising dredge operator, maintaining the canal. After beginning work there at 17, he was one of the last Americans to work on the Panama Canal. Those skills transferred well to his time in the Navy during the Vietnam War when he was serving as a SeaBee doing infrastructure work in Thailand.
After retirement, he and his wife, Estrella (and daughters Maria de Guadalupe and ?Maria Jose) settled in the Birmingham, Ala., area, where he continued to use his skills operating the largest cranes available.
He was active with the local American ?Legion post, which he enjoyed doing with his eldest daughter, Maria, a drill sergeant with the Army.
As an accomplished guitar player, he volunteered his playing and singing for his local Catholic parish, even singing at the EWTN Chapel in Irondale, Ala. He was a lover of a long conversation and a good joke, and many will miss his company and his large and generous heart.
In addition to his family in Alabama, he is survived by his sons, David and Daniel, and their mother, Diane Hudgins; stepmother, Rose Hudgins; sisters, Elena (spouse Greg) Kiley, Debra (spouse ?John B.) Lowe and Lisa Correira; stepfather, Don Correira; and six grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents and beloved brother, Billy Hudgins, who shared service in the Vietnam War as a highly decorated veteran.
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