Joseph Willis Hudson

Spartanburg, SC-Joseph Willis Hudson, 80, husband of Elsa Garrow Perlitz Hudson, died unexpectedly on Thursday, December 18, 2014. Born February 3, 1934 in Woodruff, SC, Joe lived at Willis Farms near Woodruff in lower Spartanburg County until 1941. He then moved to Spartanburg South Carolina where he attended public schools and graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1952. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and played on the UNC golf team. He married Elsa Garrow Perlitz on September 1, 1955. After returning to Spartanburg he went to work with his father at the Elford Agency in insurance. The Elford Agency was formed in 1870 in Spartanburg and the name was changed to Hudson and Company in 1956. He served in the Army with the Assistant Chief of Staff Intelligence as a crypto operator at the Pentagon until 1959. He founded the National Bank of Commerce and served as its chairman until it merged into First Citizens Bank in 1972. He remained on the board of First Citizens. Joe also served on the Advisory Board of the Small Business Administration from 1969 to 1970 and the Commission on Higher Education from 1972 to 1976. He was the state chairman, regional vice president, a member of the national board of directors and chairman of the 1972 national convention of Ducks Unlimited. In 1972 Gov. John West appointed Joe Hudson to the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Commission as its chairman, where he served until 1978. The Commission later became the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Along with Governor West, he founded The Heritage Trust program and served as its chairman. In Cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, The Heritage Trust successfully acquired over 50,000 acres of coastal lands in South Carolina by either gift or purchase. In 1974, he was awarded “Conservationist of the Year” by the South Carolina wildlife Federation. Joe served on the board of Game Conservation, the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation, the Boone & Crockett, and the Wildlife Legislative Fund. He was a member of Club Limited, the Boone & Crockett Club, the Explorers Club, the East African Professional Hunters Association and many other golf and social clubs. In 1978, Gov. Jim Edwards awarded Joe Hudson the “Order of the Palmetto.” He also served on the board of the Everglades Protection Society and was very active in conservation, hunting, and fishing. In addition to his wife, Joe is survived by his daughter, Garrow Hudson Crowley, and her husband, Christopher Marion Crowley; his son, Joseph Willis Hudson Jr. and his wife, Sarah Stromberg; grandchildren, Elsa Crowley Hepner and her husband, Olivier, Christopher Marion Crowley, Jr., Kathleen Walsh Crowley, Madison Martha Hudson, Clara Jane Hudson, Adai Rogue Hudson, Trinity Streit, and Jade Stromberg. Joe was predeceased by his parents, Martha Willis and Joseph Taylor Hudson; a sister, Martha Jane Hudson; and five infant daughters. The family will be at the home of his daughter, Garrow Crowley. Graveside services will be held Sunday, December 21st, 2:00PM at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, officiated by Reverend Dr. Kirk H. Neely and Reverend Timothy M. Gahan. In remembrance of Joe, memorials may be made to the charity of one’s choice or to The Rams Club of the University of North Carolina, 450 Skipper Bowles Dr., Chapel Hill, NC 27599.