William Ray Hudson (December 14, 1932 – October 11, 2021) was an American businessman, government official and politician, best known for representing Juneau, Alaska in the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

for seven terms. Born in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, Hudson graduated from the

Wallace, Idaho Wallace, Idaho is a city in and the county seat of Shoshone County, Idaho, in the Silver Valley mining district of the Idaho Panhandle. Founded in 1884, Wallace sits alongside the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River (and Interstate 90), app ...

High School in 1951. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

, where he reached the rank of Commander. Hudson attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York City. After living in Ketchikan, Soldotna, Kodiak, and

Dot Lake, Alaska Dot Lake (''Kelt’aaddh Menn’'' in Tanacross) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is located on the Alaska Highway between Delta Junction and Tok. The population was 13 at the ...

, he and his second wife Lucy settled in

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

in 1974 where he was in the real estate business. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served in the

from 1987 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2003. Hudson and Lucy, who was a special assistant to Senator

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006. In his 2006 re ...

and Representative Don Young, had nine children between them: Shawna, Joseph, Patti, Teresa, James, David, Steve, Karen and Kristen. They moved from Juneau to

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 73,158 at the 2020 United States Census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 United St ...

in 2017 where Lucy could be provided with memory care. She died in 2018. Hudson died on October 11, 2021.

Notes

1932 births 2021 deaths People from Yuma, Arizona Politicians from Juneau, Alaska Columbia University alumni Juilliard School alumni Businesspeople from Alaska Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives State cabinet secretaries of Alaska {{Alaska-politician-stub