James Elwyn Hudgins

He is survived by: his beloved wife - Mary Moreno Hudgins; daughter - Jennifer Hartnagle and husband Jonathan; son – Ethan Hudgins and wife Kathleen; step-children - Olivia Moreno, A.R. Moreno and wife Kate and Travis Moreno; grandchildren Judah, Gideon, Elijah, Levi, Josiah and Zadok Hartnagle; Gerard, Hannah and Thomas Hudgins; and Samuel and Luke Moreno; along with multiple cousins.

James was born in Evant, Texas to James and Kathryn Hudgins on Christmas day 1948. He and his older brothers, Billy Ray and Eddie Lee, learned the printing business inside and out by helping their father run the local newspaper. At Evant High School, James reveled in sports. He was the Evant Flash, playing basketball, running track, and excelling in football with his tremendous speed. However, his dream of playing SW Conference football ended with injuries sustained in a 3-story fall. So, James changed direction. He studied at Criswell Bible College, then traveled all over Texas as a linotype repairman/machinist. He worked at multiple newspapers, including the Killeen Daily Herald and was a decades long employee of Paper Graphics in Temple.

James was an avid fisherman, loved singing and playing his guitar and was a story teller par excellence. He was a man of integrity – doing the right thing not because it was easy, but because it was the right thing to do. James was a man of courage, sustaining numerous debilitating injuries, but refusing to sit on the sidelines - he did not have ‘quit’ in him. He intensely loved his family and his country, but most of all, he loved his Savior and Lord. James preached the gospel at numerous area churches, including many years at Canyon Creek Church of Christ in Temple and First Baptist Church of Evant. At the time of his death, he had been interim Associate Pastor at his beloved Immanuel Baptist Church in Temple for several years.

James, you are with your Lord and the cancer is gone. You won!

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Immanuel Baptist Church of Temple.