Funeral services at First United Methodist Church, Walters, OK, Saturday, January 4, 2025, at 2 PM under the direction of Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home with burial in the Walters Cemetery. Jack Donald Hudman was born to James Thomas and Emma Diamond (Nix) Hudman on December 22, 1931, in Edmond, OK, and departed this life in Lawton, OK, on December 31, 2024, at the age of 93 years and nine days.
Jack was born into a time where hunger and hardship were the core of existence, due to the Depression and the Dust Bowl days. He was the fifth child of seven born during those harsh times. He was four years old when his mother died and left his father to raise the children. Three years later, financial problems and physical ailments led the 77-year-old father to entrust the four youngest children to the care of the Baptist Children’s Orphanage in Edmond, OK. Their father stipulated that the four youngest children could not be adopted. Over time and circumstances, the seven orphaned Hudman children grew up under different conditions all over the world. Miraculously, they were very close and came together at Hudman reunions in Cotton County.
Jack lived for a time with Orly and Emmaline Land and their son Orly Don, as their family worked for the Baptist orphanage. When Jack turned 14, he joined the Max Scherler Family in the Ahpeatone community west of Walters. There he was introduced to the idea of family, community, and farming. That single act of kindness from the Scherler family led to eight decades of Hudman and Scherler families loving, working, and being together.
Jack married Joy McGee in 1950. They farmed and raised their 4 children, Beverly, Chris, Kathy, and Connie, in Cotton County. Farming is what Jack learned to do from the Scherler family. He did this by following his Scherler brothers around the farm and doing what they did. They taught him to work hard but to enjoy life, which he did all his life. He had a strong work ethic that many young men could not keep up with. Jack lived and breathed conservation in all his activities.
Jack worked tirelessly not only for the farmers of Cotton County by serving on the local conservation board for over 50 years but also by holding Oklahoma state, regional, and national leadership positions. Jack was recognized as a true servant, by volunteering his time and efforts to the noble cause of conservation. His friends, Stan and Freida Rice, equally shared this passion.
After many years of actively farming, Jack and Joy pursued a new interest in helping youth in adverse situations through the organization, Vision Quest. They volunteered their time and effort to help Vision Quest establish programs in Oklahoma to help rehabilitate juvenile offenders. They worked closely with The Honorable House Speaker, Lloyd Benson, and his wife, Judy, in this effort. It was during this time they developed a lifelong friendship with the Bensons. Joy’s death in 1997 led Jack to a new career with Vision Quest. The next 17 years, he worked all over the United States in different capacities.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Emma Hudman; his life-saving mother and father, Max and Mae Scherler; and 13 brothers and sisters of his Hudman and Scherler families. His sister, Elizabeth (Hudman) Corwin, died in April of 2024.
Survivors include 4 children, Beverly Cantrell and Jim of Lawton, Chris Hudman and Debbie of Geronimo, Kathy Tinney of Cache, and Connie Hudman of Lawton; his sister, Phyllis (Scherler) Prichard of Bethany, OK; sister-in-law Nelda (McGee) Bivens of Wichita Falls, TX; 6 grandchildren, Christopher Hudman and Cassie, April Lovejoy and Laura, Cody Price, Greg Hudman, Matthew Cantrell and Jennifer, Lyndsey Hoffman and Brandon; a bonus granddaughter, Amber Edwards; 15 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and special friends, Stan and Freida Rice.
The family requests that farmer attire be worn. Memorial donations can be made to the Walters Education Foundation, 418 S. Broadway, Walters, OK 73572, or to the Walters Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 485, Walters, OK 73572.
