Dennis Sherwood Hudson Jr.

Dennis Sherwood Hudson, Jr., age 92 of Stuart, Florida, passed away on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020. He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1928. He was preceded in death by his wife Anne Pittman Hudson and his parents, Dennis S. Hudson, Sr. and Beatrice Marie Hudson and is survived by Dale M. Hudson, his brother, his children, Dennis S. Hudson, III, Dana L. Houck, both of Stuart, Suzanne M. Beeker of Cornelius NC, Andrew B. Hudson of Old Lyme, CT, and 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

“Cork”, as he was known, was chairman and CEO of Seacoast Bank in Stuart from 1969 to 1992, and is the father of the bank’s current chairman and CEO, Dennis S. Hudson, III. After stepping down as chairman and CEO, Cork remained involved as a member of the bank’s board of directors until January of 2020. He could still be seen in the hallways of its corporate offices in Stuart until a few months ago as his health started to decline.

“My father gave us the character and values that define our team and our purpose at Seacoast Bank,” said Dennis S. Hudson, III. “Putting customers first, investing in the community, taking care of our associates – all of this is who he was and how he felt a bank should conduct business. It’s difficult to express how much his legacy means to the bank. It’s impossible to say how much we’ll miss him.”

Cork took over as chairman of the bank in 1969 after the passing of his father, Dennis S. Hudson, Sr. at a time when the bank had less than $100 million in assets. When he stepped down as chairman and CEO in 1992, the bank had nearly $1 billion in assets. For much of Cork’s career, Seacoast had but one office and was the only bank operating in its headquarters town of Stuart. Over time, the bank expanded across Florida and assets grew to over $7 Billion.

Cork led the bank through multiple recessions and the stagflation era of the 1970s. In addition to weathering challenges, he championed innovation and technology and led Seacoast to be the first on the Treasure Coast to introduce the drive-thru window and the ATM. Under his leadership, the bank was one of the first to take advantage of a change in state banking laws that allowed for “branching” when it opened its second location in Jensen Beach in 1977. Seacoast currently has 50 branches statewide.

Cork was a leader not only of the bank, but of the banking industry having served as a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Miami Branch and the Florida Bankers Association. He also served in a variety of leadership positions in the local community in his lifetime including chairman of the Red Cross of Martin County, president of the Rotary Club of Stuart, director of Hospice of Martin County and many others.

Soon after he was born, a new character in the popular Sunday comic strip Gasoline Alley was introduced. A baby boy named Corky. His parent’s friends immediately began using the name which stuck with him over his entire life.

In Cork’s early life, he was an avid quail, duck and turkey hunter with his father and also spent time as a child exploring the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. He learned to fly as a teen, while working in Ft. Pierce for a crop dusting service. However his love for sailing and interest in the strategic and tactical challenges that come with racing and navigating a sailboat was to become of great importance in his life. For almost 50 years he sailed throughout the Bahamas every year. His last trip at the helm, at age 90, with grandchildren as his crew was among the best.

Services will be scheduled at a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic.