ROCHESTER – Mr. John P. Hudkins, 74, Rochester, passed away at 11:55 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, at his residence.
On July 6, 1943, John Phillip Hudkins was born in Fulton County. He was a treasured son of William Judson and Mildred I. Brooker Hudkins.
Growing up, he shared his childhood with five brothers and a sister. John graduated from Rochester High School in 1961. Following high school he continued his education at Eastern New Mexico University where he studied history.
With a strong work ethic, John became a union sheet metal worker. He was union proud from 1966-1975. As an entrepreneur and local businessman, John formed the J & S Sheet Metal Company, serving northern Indiana. The business spanned nearly two decades. After a short stint with Air-Vac, John returned to the union, working with sheet metal from 1997 until he retired in 2006.
In Gatlinburg, Tenn., on July 6, 1999, John and Dottie Damron were married. They enjoyed 18 years of life's adventures. The Indiana winter brought on their arrival to Port St. Lucie, Fla., where they wintered for more than a decade.
Left to cherish John's memory are his wife, Dottie; two daughters, Laura Stoner and husband Craig, South Bend, and Cathi Morrison and husband Joey, Rochester; two sons, John A. Hudkins and wife Shannon, Rochester, and Jason Hudkins and wife Amanda, Rochester; Stepchildren, Doug Mayhew and wife Michelle, Duane Mayhew and wife Sandy, Danita Spangler and husband Dan, all of Warsaw; canine companion, Mitz, a black and tan Dachshund.
A celebration of the life of John P. Hudkins will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in the Good Family Funeral Home, 1200 . 18th St., Rochester. Pastor Gretchen Snyder will officiate. Friends may visit with the family from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday and one hour prior to the services in the funeral home. Interment will be in the Rochester IOOF Cemetery.
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Memorials may be made to St. Joseph County 4-H Scholarship Trust, 5117 Ironwood Road, South Bend, IN 46614; or to the Animal Education and Adoption Center through the Northern Indiana Community Foundation, 715 Main St., Rochester, IN 46975.
Electronic expressions of sympathy may be made to his family at www.goodfamilyfh.com
