Rex Jarvis Hudson, age 94, was born in Peel, Marion County,Arkansas on March 18, 1924 to Monroe Jefferson and Gertrude McPherson Hudson. He was the middle child of their five children. The youngest, Bradford is the last surviving
child. Rex spent most of his youth in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. He worked early in life on the farm, cutting firewood and selling it, and at the Sears store in Springfield Missouri in their tire shop. It was in Fordland, Missouri that he met the love of his life, Lucy Evelyn Oxenreider. They were married on July 10, 1943 in Fordland. He sold his old car and used the money to buy train tickets to California to start their life together. Arriving in Suisun California they soon settled in Fairfield where they would live for 57 years and raise their two children, Evelyn Sue and Ervin Rex. It was in 1944 that he began a career working at Benicia Arsenal for the Federal Government as a painter. He painted military vehicles such as jeeps, trucks and tanks. The Arsenal closed in 1962 and he went to Mare Island Ship Yard where he painted submarines. His hobbies included hunting, fishing, camping and of course rebuilding old jeeps. His love of jeeps never passed and he still enjoyed working on them until recently.
He was always proud of the fact that his grandfather, Isaac, fought in the civil war and he still has his grandfather's original discharge papers.
Rex and Lucy moved to Redding in 1990 to be close to their children. His wife of 63 years, Lucy, passed away in February of 2007 and his daughter, Evelyn Sue McKinley, age 63 passed away in December of the same year. Both are buried together in Redding.
Rex passed away at 1:34 pm on March 23, 2018 at Sierra Oaks Assisted Living in Redding with his son, Ervin at his side.
He is survived by Ervin Rex and Patty Ann Hudson, brother Bradford and Betty Hudson, six grandchildren, eight great grand children and many nieces and nephews. He will be missed by all that knew and loved him.
