John Suter Hudson

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that John Suter Hudson has died on October 21, 2015.  John was born on December 10, 1955 in Long Beach, California.  He is survived by his loving wife of five years- Alexandria Whiteman Hudson, his father, Raymond Suter Hudson, and his mother, Patricia Fisher Hudson, and his sister, Linda Hudson Herbers.  He will be sadly missed by his brother-in- law, Jerome E. Herbers, Jr. and John's nieces, Esther and Clara Herbers and Mairead Hunter-Herbers. John would say "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."  John Hudson was the love of my life and the man of my dreams. We met on August 14, 2009 (thanks to eHarmony) and he proposed September 26, 2009 and we married on January 12, 2010 in a private ceremony. We just knew that what we had together was special and magical.  We felt so blessed to have found each other and I can say that we lived each day as if it was our last and made it our priority to see that the other was happy and felt appreciated.  When I found John had slipped peacefully into death, I was so glad he had a peaceful ending to his wonderful life.

John was the most unselfish and generous man I have ever known and I would tell people that he was the best man I had ever met.  John made me want to be a better person and for that I will always be grateful.  John had a great saying that really steered our lives and relationship "Every day is a holiday and every meal is Thanksgiving".  Another favorite saying of his was "Did anybody get shot?  Did anybody die?" which helped put things into perspective.  He would say that "this too shall pass", offer a hug and a resolution.  He believed in life's simple pleasures. He would say "I wake up every day, look at my fingers and toes and count my blessings."  John had an incredible love for animals.  Friends at the barn will remember him for always having a treat at the ready for their horses.  He was given the nickname "Pockets" because he always had a tasty tidbit for his horse friends.  He would say a kind word and pat their necks.  He made sure that each and every horse got attention and felt loved.

John was a native of Lancaster, Pa. and a graduate of Penn Manor High School in 1974.  John was inducted into the Penn Manor Athletic Hall of Honor in 2005 for his many swimming achievments during his high school years.  John was an incredible swimmer and was a certified scuba diver and made dives all over the world during his travels with the Army. He went to Washington and Lee University and was called by his coach "far and away the best swimmer this school has ever seen".  John S. Hudson, '78, owns the distinction of being the most honored swimmer in Washington and Lee history. Hudson made history in 1976 when he became W&L's first-ever NCAA national champion, winning the 500- and 1650-yard freestyle events at the NCAA college division swimming championships. John, who also finished second in both the national 500 and 1650 in 1975 and 1977, remains one of only three W&L athletes to earn the distinction of national champion. John was named All-America seventeen times, a mark that is still the W&L record. Hudson set or helped set six W&L records, including two (for the 500 and 1650) that are still the school standards. Co-captain of the team his junior year, John led the swim team to a combined 33-9 record in his four years at W&L, including top-10 national finishes in all four years. He led the Generals swimmers to a 10-1 record in 1978, the most successful season in W&L swimming history.

A Virginia state champion swimmer eight times in his W&L career, Hudson was named W&L's outstanding swimmer each of his four years. He led W&L to a fourth place finish in the Virginia State Championships in 1977 and a third-place finish in 1978. He was selected W&L's freshman athlete of the year in 1976 and W&L's outstanding senior athlete in 1978. John was a Dean's List student as a junior and a senior and also served as assistant head dormitory counselor during his senior year.   He graduated with a degree in Business and a degree in Archeology.  In 1990, John was inducted into the Washington and Lee Athletics Hall of Fame.

Upon graduating from Washington and Lee's ROTC program he was commissioned as an officer in the US army in 1978.  He served in multiple posts in the United States and abroad (such as Djibouti and Sudan)  during his career including the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.  John had a tremendous sense of pride for his country and felt it was an honor to serve.  He was a Military Intelligence Officer with the rank of Major.   A well decorated officer and received many accomodations and medals. On February 14, 2003 at the age of 47, John Hudson received a "Valentine" from Uncle Sam recalling him to active military duty in the Middle East and Africa.  He was proud to serve his country for 27 years in the US Army and was called "The Professor". He earned that name from the many young men he counseled and assisted during his time serving our country. John Hudson joined MCI Worldcom in 1993 and held various positions of increasing responsibility in Human Resources, including Manager-Payroll Services and Director of Benefits.  After a brief two year break for military service during Iraqi Desert Storm, John returned to 
Worldcom in his Director of Benefits role until the merger of Worldcom and Verizon in 2006.  At the merger, John became a Director responsible for managing the savings plans for the Verizon Business employees.  In 2008, John became the Director of Business Integration, with his team being the single point of contact for all Human Resource related needs of Acquisitions, Mergers, and Divestitures within Verizon Business.   John Hudson retired in 2012, after 19 years of service.
 
John’s accomplishments in the swimming pool are numerous. But more importantly, as his teammates reflect on his legacy, they cite the gingerbread houses he loved to make with his mom and share with his friends and their children, the self-depracating way he told people the reason he swam distance races was because he didn’t have any fast twitch muscle fibers and how he was always there with his big smile and positive attitude to cheer on his teammates.  He was considered to be the ultimate teammate because he would do/swim anything for the team.  John wandered onto the George Mason University pool deck, just around the corner from his house, in 1999 intending to swim a few laps and go home. Even though he was out of shape the coach at the other end of the pool noticed his beautiful technique and invited him to join the masters team. Less than a year later he was breaking team records.
 
In 2000 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County John won the national championship in the 800 freestyle at long course Masters Nationals with a time of 9:30.25. He also broke two United States Masters Swimming national records: The first in short course meters when his team went 3:52.42 in the men’s  400 free relay at the Albatross open in North Bethesda, Maryland on April 6, 2002. And the second on June 23, 2002 in long course meters when the same four men went 8:55.55 long course in the   800 free relay at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In John’s Masters swimming career he amassed 20 top-10 finishes in the country individual swims and 11 top -10 finishes in the country relay swims.  He was also an integral part of the Patriot Masters team that won the small team division at the 2002 long course National Championships at Cleveland State. He just recently got back into the pool and competed at the 2015 Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic swimming in three events.  He placed second in the 1500 Freestyle (setting the Patriot Masters at George Mason University record!) and placed second in the 800 meter freestyle and third in the 400 meter freestyle. In honor of John and in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Habitat for Humanity or Wounded Warrior Project.  

    

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