Barbara Hudson

Barbara moved to Thousand Oaks in 1959. She became a member of the founding faculty of California Lutheran University in 1961 and taught speech and drama there until 1975.

She was born in St. James, Minnesota on a cold winter’s day, and then moved with her family to a grapefruit ranch in Brownsville, Texas. When she was 8, the beginning of the Great Depression sent them back home to Iowa. Her family moved from Knoxville, to Anamosa, to Algona. Eventually, at Fort Dodge High School, she became the Iowa State Debate Champion at 14 and graduated at 16. She attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and received her B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1942. She was the only girl in her Civil Air Defense class and got her pilot’s license before The War. She worked at WHO Radio in Des Moines where she wrote and hosted two shows. It was at the radio station that she was recruited to be in the very first Officers’ Class of the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. She served at Cherry Point, NC, and the San Diego Naval Base. The end of the war found her in Hollywood, CA.

Barbara continued her education at the University of Southern California, receiving her Master’s Degree in Theater and starred in many mainstage productions of the drama department under the direction of William DeMille, most notably as Joan of Arc in Maxwell Anderson’s “Joan of Lorraine.”

Barbara became the Director of Youth Ministries at the First Presbyterian church of Hollywood under her mentor, Dr. Henrietta C. Mears. (Barbara’s biography of Dr. Mears was published in 1958.) Barbara married J.W. “Bill” Powers in 1946 and together they worked for Great Commission Films that produced the first movies for Billy Graham’s association. For five years she produced and directed a major Memorial Day pageant at the Forest Home Christian Conference Center. She also appeared on TV in popular dramatic series.

After moving to Thousand Oaks, Barbara became active in the Conejo Players, acting in and directing more than a few shows. Her touring drama group at CLU, The King’s Players, traveled and performed all over the southwest. She was also a prolific contributor to the Editorial page of the Conejo News: News Chronicle: Ventura County Star.

At the age of 62, she wrote a series of dramatic monologues based on women of the Bible. For the next 25 years, she performed her program at churches, schools, prisons, and conferences throughout California, across the U.S., in Canada, Europe, Israel, and served as a missionary for Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village. This one-woman dramatic presentation captured the hearts of her audiences and was her most satisfying and important accomplishment. Above all, Barbara desired to serve and glorify her savior, Jesus Christ.

Barbara is survived by her two daughters, Jean Powers Cross (Dan) and Cathy Colleen Powers; her most beloved grandsons, Ben Hudson Kallas, Matthew Cross (Jeannie Miller Cross) and Steven Cross; and her twin great-granddaughters (Matt and Jeannie’s), Maggie Lou Cross and Phoebe Jane Cross, to whom the torch has been passed.