Ira Hudson III

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Ira John Hudson III, 92, a Southern Illinois community and business leader, died Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau.

Hudson was born Feb. 16, 1926, in Riverview, Florida, to I.J. and Lucille McCown Hudson Jr., but he resided most of his life in Mound City.

He was a partner in I.J. Hudson Jr. and Sons, which consisted of Hudson, his father and his brother, Robert Hudson. The partnership's main business was a grain storage facility in Mounds, Illinois. The grain elevator was later sold to Tabor Grain Co. He was also involved in the day-to-day operations of Hudson Warehouses Inc. of Cairo, Illinois.

In 1977, the partnership started planning the construction of a terminal on the Ohio River at Mound City to transfer bulk commodities from rail or truck to barge. A contract was entered into between the ICG Railroad and A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. to use the terminal. The facility was operated by Hudson Industries, of which Mr. Hudson was a partner. It was later sold to Bulk Service Corp.

Hudson was president in 1981 of Southern Illinois Inc., which promotes economic development in the region. He was chairman of the board the following year. He was also governor of District 651, Rotary International during 1973 and '74. During his life, he also was president of the Pulaski-Alexander Development Corp., the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, the Cairo Rotary Club in which he was a Paul Harris Fellow, executive board of Egyptian Council Boy Scouts of America, commissioner of Pulaski Co. Housing Authority and a member of the Cairo Elks Lodge and Egyptian Country Club. In 1986, he received the Geoffrey Hughes Southern Illinois Citizen of the Year Award.

He was a former member of the United Church of Christ in Mounds.

A graduate of Mound City Community High School, Hudson graduated from the University of South Carolina with degrees in naval science and economics. He was commissioned in 1947, saw destroyer duty in the Pacific fleet and served as general manager of Guam Bus Lines, which was under naval government control.

He and the former Gloria Hayden of Villa Ridge, Illinois, were married for 65 years until her passing in 2012.

Survivors include a son, I.J. (Jan) Hudson of Darnestown, Maryland; a daughter, Cherri (Jeffrey) Hudson-Brown of Las Cruces, New Mexico; grandchildren, Erin (Chris) Malone of Charlotte, North Carolina, Bart (Claire) Hudson of Damascus, Maryland, Hayley Brown of Houston and Ira Joseph (Lars) Brown of State College, Pennsylvania; and great-grandchildren, Ben and Nate Malone of Charlotte and Jake and Luke Hudson of Damascus. He is also survived by nieces and nephews and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother and a son in infancy.

Visitation will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Crain Funeral Home in Cairo.

Funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, with the Rev. Buddy Walls officiating. Burial, with military honors by area veterans and the Navy Funeral Honors Team, will follow at Mound City National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to organizations such as Rotary, the Elks and others promoting the welfare of their communities.