Obituary of Lorraine Hudson

Lorraine Hudson, 84, beloved wife of Roy W. Hudson of Princeton, NJ, passed away peacefully at her home on March 24, 2014 following a long illness. She was born Eleanor Lorraine Bennett in Chester County, PA on October 11, 1929 and grew up in Camden, N.J. with her mother and her adoptive father, Erma J. and Russell B. Kelchner, and her brother Donald, all of whom have predeceased her. Lorraine, a class officer and head cheerleader, was very popular throughout her high school years where she was voted “Most Popular Girl”, played piano in the school band, and was chosen senior prom queen. She met her husband Roy, whom she married on August 13, 1949, when he showed up uninvited at her 16th birthday party and they were married 64 years at the time of her death. They moved to Vineland, N.J., where Roy joined Prudential Life Insurance Company. Lorraine joined the Little Theatre of Vineland where she was cast in numerous roles. It was at the little theater that she met the director of the Bucks County Playhouse leading to roles there and at the Paper Mill Playhouse, now in Millburn, N.J. After 10 years, Roy was transferred by Prudential to manage their Trenton, N.J. agency. Lorraine and Roy bought a home in Yardley, Pa. During their 16 years there Lorraine taught swimming and lifesaving classes at the Trenton YWCA and attended Bucks County Community College. They built their present home in Princeton in 1979 and Lorraine went on to study art at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) graduating with a BA in 1984. She enjoyed painting, drawing, and making pottery in the studio they installed in their home. Lorraine volunteered for, and supported, a wide range of environmental, social, and artistic philanthropic causes being especially active in securing funds for the Trenton Symphony and the Children’s Home Society (see In Lieu of Flowers below). She enjoyed cooking, entertaining, and the arts and was a long-time subscriber to the Philadelphia Ballet, the McCarter Theatre, and the Walnut Street Theatre. She loved to travel, which she and Roy did to four continents, and attending art museums, concerts, and plays with her many friends. Always an active person she played tennis in the Princeton Ladies League. In addition to Roy Lorraine is survived by; daughter Kathleen Fabish and husband John of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; daughter Nanette Joyce and husband Brian of Ewing, N.J.; son-in-law Blair Fridgen of Scarborough, Maine; and daughter Cynthia Whittenberg and husband Hank of Derry, N.H. She was predeceased by her beloved daughter Pamela Hudson-Fridgen. Also surviving Lorraine are 9 grandchildren whom she cherished and with whom she traveled the world: Alexander and Benjamin Fabish, Dylan and Fiona Joyce, Riley and Jack Fridgen, and Kyla, Jenna, and Peter Whittenberg. Visitation and services will be held at the Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Rd., Lawrenceville, N.J On Saturday, March 29, 2014 with a viewing from 10:00-11:00 AM followed by a service at 11:00 AM, the Rev. Brian Joyce presiding. Interment will follow at the Princeton Cemetery, Greenview Ave., Princeton, N.J. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Lorraine’s name to The Children’s Home Society of NJ, 635 South Clinton Ave., Trenton, NJ 08611.