Radius A. (Ray) Hudson
Ray, Rex, Bonnie, David, Tina, Janette-1965
Laveen - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2017
Radius A. “Ray” Hudson was an Arizona native, a successful farmer, an active community member, an agricultural leader, and most importantly to him, a father. He firmly believed that farming was not an occupation, but a way of life. Ray’s family moved to Arizona in 1919. They bought their first 40 acres in Laveen in 1922, moving a mile to the north in 1927. That property has always been referred to as the “Hudson Home Place”. When his parents retired Ray became owner and manager of the farm.
According to his youngest daughter, Janette, Ray was a tall man, 6’3” in his cowboy boots. “(He was) a very easy going man, very friendly. He never met a stranger. He could talk to anybody. He was happiest when he was in the fields.” Ray was a man who believed in giving back to the community. He was an active member of the Arizona Farm Bureau and the Cotton Growers Association. During the early years when rural Maricopa County had a lot of unimproved roads the Maricopa County Farm Bureau began chartering buses to take legislators and county officials to see areas that needed the most improvement. Ray chaired and hosted the event on numerous occasions. On naming Ray “Father of the Year” in 1961 the Arizona Cowbelles said, “Ray Hudson’s list of community activities is longer than a cotton picker’s arm.” Governor Paul Fannin named Ray Arizona’s delegate to President John F Kennedy’s Food for Peace Conference. The following year he appointed Ray Commissioner of the Agriculture and Horticultural Committee, (now the Arizona Department of Agriculture). In the 1970s he accompanied Governor Raul Castro on an agricultural trip to Russia during the Cold War to observe and exchange ideas about agriculture behind the iron curtain. Ray and his wife, Tina, had four children: sons David and Rex and two daughters, Janette and Bonnie. His sons have assumed the day to day responsibility of the farm, expanding the operation to include farms in Hyder, Wellton, Yuma, and Somerton.
In the 1980s Ray married a childhood friend, Alberta Colvin Fields, who was also from an early Laveen family. The couple spent half of the year in Pinetop. Although he was retired the desire to work the earth never dimmed. His yards always bloomed with roses, Bird of Paradise and geraniums.
Affiliations
Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Board, Member
Arizona Farm Bureau, Member
Arizona Agriculture and Horticulture Commission, Chairman
Cotton Growers Association, Member
FFA Advisory Committee of Phoenix Union High School District, Member
Laveen Baptist Church, Member
Laveen Community Council, Member
Laveen School Board, President
Laveen Little League Baseball, Coach
Laveen PTA, Member
Laveen 4H, Leader
Maricopa County Farm Bureau, Member
Maricopa County Roads Improvement District - Farm Bureau, Chairman
Maricopa County Republican Party, Precinct Committeeman
Masonic Lodge 3rd Degree Mason
Republican District Chairman
Roosevelt Farm Bureau, President
Roosevelt Council Boys Scout of America, Advisor
South Mountain Lions Club, Member
Thunderbird Country Club, Member
White Mountain Country Club, Member
Awards
1961 Father of the Year, Arizona Cowbelles
Future Farmers of America, Honorary member
