James Harris Hudgins Sr.

James Harris Hudgins, Sr. of Mocksville, NC passed away Tuesday, December 28th, 2021, at the age of 91 having battled Alzheimer’s disease for a number of years. He passed away peacefully at home only days after his wife Jeanne had passed earlier in the month. Jim and his wife Jeanne had been a resident of Mocksville, NC for 15 years having lived previously in Pfafftown, NC for almost 30 years. Prior to that he and his family lived in Atlanta, GA; Buffalo Grove, IL; Parsippany, NJ and throughout the state of North Carolina.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne Gregg Hudgins; parents, Alice Millard Hudgins and Charlie Otis Hudgins and his son Jeffrey G. Hudgins. He is survived by his sons James H. Hudgins Jr. and wife Paige A. Hudgins, of Dunwoody, GA, Jerry C. Hudgins and wife Renee H. Hudgins, of Huntersville, NC, daughter Jennifer H. Burnett of Mocksville, NC; and his much loved grandchildren James (Jake) H. Hudgins III (Kristen), William J. Hudgins, Josh M. Hudgins, Matthew C. Hudgins, Nicholas G. Hudgins, Rachel K. Quinn, and Megan R. Quinn, and many Gregg family nieces and nephews.

Jim was a native of Lenoir, NC, born on December 1,1930. After graduating Lenoir High School, Jim attended Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, NC. He worked as an executive in the financial services industry from 1955-1978, fifteen of those years as Executive Vice President at Universal CIT in New York City and Chicago, IL. In 1978 he joined Pace Oil Co. in Winston Salem, NC where he started the city’s first chain of express oil services. During this time, Jim and Jeanne also owned and operated Mayberry’s Restaurant in Old Salem, NC as well as The Pier Restaurant in Winston Salem, NC. Jim also received his auctioneer’s license in 1986 and enjoyed conducting retail auctions throughout western NC for many years. While living in Pfafftown, NC, Jim and his family were active members at Old Town Baptist Church where he taught Sunday school for many years.

Jim enjoyed time with his kids, including many years of coaching baseball, Cub Scouts and Y-Indian Guides. With the knowledge of his progressive dementia, Jim elected to donate his remains to Wake Forest Baptist for continued research on Alzheimer’s and other diseases. He left us a legacy of strength and love that will be with our families forever.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in memory of James H. Hudgins to either of the following Alzheimer’s research programs: Wake Forest Baptist School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Research Initiatives at https://giving.wakehealth.edu/Find-Your-Cause/Aging-Alzheimers or by calling directly :336-716-4589 or 800-899-7128 and Alzheimer’s Association at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation

Graveside services will be held at 12:00pm at Forsyth Memorial Park in Winston Salem on Saturday, January 8, 2022. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.voglerfuneralhome.com for the Hudgins family.