Inez Jeannette Hudson passed from this life on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at the age of 102. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa in the spring of 1917, the daughter of Thomas and Esther Egeland. Her older brother died at birth, so to her great regret, Inez was raised as an only child. She always longed for even one sibling.
When she was 12, Inez and her parents moved to California to escape the harsh Midwest winters, and they settled in the Los Angeles area near family. After graduation from Huntington Park High, she attended Frank Wiggins Trade School, then worked for a time as a secretary and bookkeeper before her marriage to William I Hudson in June of 1940. Together they raised four children.
After the death of her husband, Inez moved to Ventura to be near her son, Steve and his family. In later years she went to live with her daughter, Suzanne and her family in rural northern California. She kept herself busy working in the lunchroom at Fieldbrook Elementary School. She also took classes in watercolor, and volunteered at Mad River Hospital where she was known for her ready smile. Yet she found that she missed the city with its buzz of traffic and bustle of people. She liked to comment that she was "just a city slicker living on the side of a mountain". In 2012, she returned to Ventura to live at Aegis Senior Living facility.
Inez was generally perceived as quiet and reserved, but she was also strong and determined - and even sassy and opinionated! She was outspoken about her dislike of the blasting of air horns at graduations and the booming of thunder (the result of a childhood of violent midwest storms). She avoided balloons and noisy fireworks, and she detested the loss of an hour (often on her birthday) as we switched to Daylight Savings Time. Inez loved the rain and the clouds, homemade macaroni and cheese, and going out with family and friends to breakfast. She had an exceptional memory for names and birthdates. Most of all, she loved her family. In an interview with one of her granddaughters, she said that "raising my family has given me the greatest joy in life."
Loved ones who went before her are her husband, William I; son, William T; and son-in-law, John W Wildey. Loved ones who will miss her until they meet again are her children: Kathleen Amarillas (Sal), Suzanne Wildey, and Stephen Hudson (Maria), daughter-in-law JoAnn, 15 grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren. A memorial event will be held at Riverside National Cemetery on July 19, 2019 at 11:31.
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