A B Hudson

Mr. Hudson’s family founded the Hudson Oil Company in the 1930s. He sold the business to Koch Industries in 1966 and founded Workingman’s Friend Oil and Highway Oil, both in Topeka, Kan. Mr. Hudson, who was 84 when he died in 2008, left about $60-million, the bulk of his estate, to Shriners Hospitals for Children, in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Hudson designated the money to endow specialized medical care for children with burns, cleft lip and palate, orthopedic conditions, and spinal-cord injuries, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Some of the money will also be directed toward the hospitals’ education and research programs. A.B. was an anonymous benefactor in so many areas including rebuilding churches, supporting museums, and most recently creating a Foundation to help rebuild Greensburg, Kansas, homes after the devastating tornado in 2007. He was a major benefactor of the Mayo Foundation. Bob was a lifetime member of the Shriners and he was in the Mounted Patrol. He and his beloved horse, Hobo, made appearances all over the United States from California to the White House. Survivors include Peggye McNair; his daughter Michele Rothe of Steamboat Springs, Colo.; his sons John Hudson of Topeka and Tom and his wife Cindy Hudson of Tucson, Ariz.; his grandchildren, Nathan, Rachele, Nichole and Angela; and niece Joyce and her husband Ben Sharp. Extended family includes Peggye’s sons Russell Moore and family of Alpine, Texas, and Morgan Moore and family of Santa Monica, California. He was preceded in death by his parents John and Allie Hudson; his brothers and sister, T.J., M.R. and Mary Hudson.