TYLER COUNTY – A beloved teacher, and later, county official were two of the many hats Charles “Buck” Hudson wore throughout his life.
The Spurger native died last Thursday at age 62. He was known for decades as a much-loved ag teacher at Spurger High School, where he retired from that profession in 2018, and afterward, continued serving his community by running for the Precinct 4 Commissioner position.
Hudson won, and served, two full terms, and had just run unopposed in the Republican primary in March. Hudson had quietly fought a 14-year-long battle against cancer.
In his 30 years as an educator, Hudson taught at Silsbee and Woodville, but it was at Spurger High School where he spent the majority of his career and became a mentor teacher to many. He was also the sponsor for the junior class, and through 25 years, was closely associated with the Dogwood Festival.
For the festival, he served as the parade director, and served a long stint as the executive director, which ended in 2023.
Hudson also served on the county’s Fair Board for more than 20 years, and was involved with his church, First Pentecostal, for which he served as song leader.
In his 2022 reelection bid, Hudson said that despite difficulties he’d encountered in county government, it was the help of fellow officials that kept the county running smoothly.
Other officials weighed in on Hudson after his passing. County Auditor Jackie Skinner called him a “dear friend” and “a one-of-a-kind person.”
“The first thing I’ll share is his true love of our Savior, Jesus Christ,” Skinner said. “He had a servant’s heart and would help anybody any way he could. He always had a smile on his face. He loved to have fun,” she said.
Skinner added that when she faced her own battle with cancer last year, Hudson was one of her “greatest champions in pleading the request of my healing…to the Lord.”
Hudson’s friend Jim Zachary said that his late friend “touched the lives of hundreds of people. He will be missed.”
The Texas Association of Counties also weighed in with a posting to social media offering condolences, and that the organization’s “thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and community.”
Under Texas Local Government Code, in the event of a vacancy in a county commissioner position, the county judge shall appoint a suitable resident of the precinct to fill that vacancy until the next general election.
