Jeanne Anne (Hackett) H
udson of Wyoming, Mich., the matriarch of Wayland’s most famous basketball family, died Wednesday, March 16. She was 77.
udson of Wyoming, Mich., the matriarch of Wayland’s most famous basketball family, died Wednesday, March 16. She was 77.She was the wife of WHS basketball star Harry Hudson, the mother of WHS coach Mike Hudson and grandmother of recent hardcourt stars Westin, Presley and Avery Hudson.
Born July 25, 1938, the first of seven daughters, to Sally and John Hackett in Mt. Pleasant, Jeanne Anne grew up in Mt. Pleasant, a 1956 graduate of Sacred Heart Academy. Besides her studies there, she graduated in music from Sacred Heart , where she was an organist. After high school, she attended Aquinas College for two years, then transferred and graduated in 1961 from Central Michigan University with her elementary teaching certificate.
In 1961 she married Harry Hudson and they both landed jobs with Wyoming Public Schools right out of college. When they had their first child, she left teaching to raise her five children. Throughout this time she continued to substitute teach when she could.
Jeanne Anne was well known and respected for her dedication to her parish, St. John Vianney in Wyoming. She was an organist, taught kindergarten, planned children’s masses, and was the religious education coordinator. She said one of the most fulfilling parts of her work was preparing children for First Communion.
Until recently, she continued to share her faith by being a prayer leader and Eucharistic minister to residents at Vista Springs Assisted Living Facility.
Jeanne Anne was not only dedicated to her Catholic faith and music, she was, at all times, a full time supporter of her family attending school and sporting events (too numerous to record!) in which her children and grandchildren were involved. She always said her favorite sport was watching basketball!
She also enjoyed family times at the Payne Lake cottage, gatherings around the swimming pool on Grenadier, golfing, and any opportunity she had to be with her sisters.
Along with Harry, she organized and hosted many Hackett and Hudson family celebrations. Memorable to the Hackett family are the years when her grandchildren and those of her sisters performed the Nativity Story at Christmastime, in full costumes she provided.
Jeanne Anne was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in 2006, and faced this diagnosis with the faith and grace that exemplified her life. Son Mike missed one basketball game on a Saturday against Stevenville Lakeshore to be by her side when her condition was grave. Grandson Wes coached the Wildcats to victory in Mike’s place.
She is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Harry, her five children: Jeff (Kelly) Hudson, Tom (Patty) Hudson, Mike (Teri) Hudson, Sharon (Pete) Jansma, and John Hudson; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her five sisters, Elaine (Dean) Salisbury, Sharon (Dan) Balogh, Karen (Bill) Tasch, Rita (Bill) Maddox, Patti (Van) Tuma; many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Sally Hackett, her sister Mary Jo Hackett, her mother and father-in law, Helen and Ed Hudson, her brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, Dick Hudson, Tom Hudson and Marie Hall.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 4101 Clyde Park SW, Wyoming. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery. The family will receive visitors at St. John Vianney Church from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 17 with a vigil service beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Home, 4031 Clyde Park SW, Wyoming.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. John Vianney Foundation and Hope for Haiti.
My sincere condolences to the Hudson family in the loss of their mother/grandmother. Although I wasn’t involved in the sport of basketball, I admired both Harry and his sons in their exploits both on the court and in the community. I knew Harry through our mutual membership in an organization supporting high school athletics and we are both graduates of Wayland. God bless Harry and the family during this time of loss.