Funeral services were held February 11, 2014, at St. Peters Catholic Church in Bassfield for Mr. Lawrence “Larry” Hudson, Jr., age 78, who died February 7, 2014, at his residence. Father Godfrey officiated. Johnson Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Lawrence Hudson was the third child born to Lawrence and Corinne Hudson in Biloxi, MS. He was a devout Catholic, serving as an usher for many years to St. Edwards Catholic Church in Newark, CA, and participated in the Knights of Peter Claver.

After completing his primary and high school education at Our Mother of Sorrow Catholic School in Biloxi, he attended Jackson State University. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and a tour of duty. He worked in the Civil Rights Movement with Medgar Evers and was the editor of the Mississippi Free Press Newspaper. During this time, he also met and married his wife, Mary Ann Buckley and to this union four children were born. He was preceded in death by his first child, Lorriane.

Mr. Hudson began teaching in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, after completing his education. After a year, he relocated to California where he spent more than 30 years as an educator in the San Francisco Unified School District. He worked as the Dean of Boys, social studies and driver’s education instructor. He was elected to the executive board of the San Francisco’s Teachers Union and was a program consultant for the district’s community outreach. He loved working as an usher for the San Francisco 49ers.

He returned to Mississippi in 1996 to care for his mother and became a member of the Elks Lodge in Biloxi, MS. With this group, he served as youth director editor and enjoyed many hours of community service and fellowship. While in Biloxi, he recorded an oral history of his life for the Oral History and Cultural Heritage of the University of Southern Mississippi.

After relocating to Jefferson Davis County, he served as first-vice president of the NAACP, a volunteer for AARP, the Democratic Executive Committee and the Elections Supervisory Committee. He also worked with the youth in Lawrence and Jefferson Davis Counties, volunteered as a counselor at the Prentiss Sheriff’s Department and wrote numerous articles for the Clarion Ledger, Sun Herald and Prentiss Headlight Newspapers.

Mr. Hudson is survived by wife, Mary Ann; three children, Ken of St. Louis, MO, Jackie of Ellenwood, GA, and Mike of Atlanta, GA; two grandchildren, Troi and Zoe; sister, Audrey McClendon of Biloxi, MS; uncle, Eddie Williams of Jacksonville, FL; five sisters-in-law; four brothers-in-law and their spouses; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.