John G. Hudson

On June 2, 2025, John G. Hudson passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 99, just seven weeks shy of his 100th birthday. John was born on July 17, 1925 to Rufus and Pearl Hudson, in Parthenon, Arkansas. He spent years on the family farm until his father’s death when he and his mother moved to Jasper, Arkansas. John loved to fish for small mouth bass in the Little Buffalo River. After graduation from Parthenon Academy at the age of 18, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he fought in the battle for Iwo Jima. When he returned from the war, John took a job surveying land in the western U.S. It was around that time that he met his future wife, Barbara “Bobbye” Hickinbotham at a dance featuring Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. They would later wed and move to Clarksville, AR where John attended the College of the Ozarks and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree. He went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas with a Master of Science in Geology. John took a job as a petroleum geologist with Gulf Oil company in Ardmore, Oklahoma where he and Bobbye welcomed their son, Preston to the family. They later moved to Fort Smith, AR where their second child, Karen was born. Several years later, John and family moved to Wichita Falls, Texas where he worked with oilman Steve Gose for several years. John then made the decision to start his own business as a consultant petroleum geologist. At the time of his retirement, John had grown his start-up into 3 distinct companies. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, John and several esteemed geologists and geological engineers from the United States were honored by being asked to travel to Russia for an exchange of ideas with their Russian counterparts in the oil and gas industry. He will be missed by friends and associates who remain in the business or have retired. In addition to the devotion to his work, John loved to play the stock market and to make investments which he continued to do until the time of his death. During his life, John also loved working on his farm near Stillwell, OK and spending time at his house on Beaver Lake. He remained a loyal Arkansas Razorback football fan until the day that he passed away. John was preceded in death by his parents, Rufus and Pearl Hudson, his wife Barbara (Bobbye), and his siblings Jewell, Coy, Darrell, Marie, Flora, Troy, Dossie, and Fred. He leaves behind two children, Preston Hudson (Nancy) of Fort Smith, AR and Karen Hudson of Collierville, TN. He also leaves behind 3 grandchildren, Jake (Van Buren, AR), Valerie (Bakersfield, CA), and Amanda (Heber Springs, AR) and 8 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in John’s honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Services will include a visitation on Thursday, June 5th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at Edwards Funeral Home in Ft. Smith, along with a funeral service at Coffman Funeral Home in Jasper, AR on Friday, June 6th at 1:00 pm. A brief graveside service will be held following the funeral at Union Hill Cemetery in Parthenon, AR, just outside of Jasper.