Wilson Stewart Hudson of Youngstown, Florida passed away the morning of Fat Tuesday at the late Willie West family’s hunting camp and farm near Sardis, Alabama. He died peacefully, surrounded by friends, family, and his dog Bama, after completing a “bucket list” that included honoring his commitments; enjoying bonfires and Budweiser; going fishing with loved ones; being serenaded by long-time family friend Grayson Capps; riding on a Mardi Gras float with the Condi Explorers; visiting Cedar Creek hunting lodge; and being at the West farm with the best good buddies anyone could have.

Wilson was born in and grew up in Brewton, Alabama, graduating from T.R. Miller High School in 1978. An avid Auburn fan and outdoorsman, he always enjoyed building and carpentry work. He worked for over twenty-five years for CeCo Concrete Construction, building high rise condominiums around the southeast. According to his foremen and friends, Stevie West and Mike Thomas, Wilson was “the BEST frame guy and stair guy anywhere!” He also worked for R&R Construction in Mobile, and this past summer he took contract work for a few months, doing beach cleanup after the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon disaster.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen Conti Hudson and is survived by his parents, Eugene and Kathryn (Booda) Hudson, a son, Jason Stewart Hudson, a sister, Suzanne Hudson, all of Fairhope, Alabama; two brothers, Joseph Sumner Hudson of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and John Chandler Hudson of Daphne, Alabama; an honorary sister, Jamie Gardner Rutan of Point Washington, Florida; many other family members; a phenomenal number of friends; and his beloved fiancé and soul mate Rebecca Langerud of Youngstown, Florida. Rebecca’s family, all of whom Wilson cherished, include her daughter Elizabeth Mount, son James Langerud, and two grandchildren, Sarina Mount and Katelyn Langerud.

Cremation arrangements were made through Selma Funeral Home/Pineville Memory Gardens in Selma, Alabama. A memorial will be held on Saturday, April 2nd at 5:00 p.m. at 8934 Clear Lake Drive in Youngstown, Florida.

An Alabama memorial to honor and celebrate Wilson’s life will be held on Saturday, March 26th beginning at 3:00 p.m. at 10930 Sandy Lane in Fairhope, Alabama, on Waterhole Branch of Fish River. The ceremony, to be officiated by Rev. Bill Kierce of Jubilee Shores United Methodist Church, will take place at 4:00 p.m.

The celebration, including an official, albeit ironic, “You ‘bout as sorry as Wisson Husson” Budweiser toast, will continue into the evening hours; and, at some point in the near future, a permanent memorial inspired by Capps’ music and constructed with his dad, Mayor Capps’ supervision, will be erected on the Branch, with a special element in tribute to Wilson.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Hospice (401 Bowling Avenue/Suite 51/Nashville, TN 37205-5124); or the Leukemia Research Foundation (3520 Lake Avenue/Suite 202/Wilmette IL 60091-1064); or the Woods Hole Research Center (Gilman Ordway Campus/149 Woods Hole Road/Falmouth, MA 02540) with a request that the donation to the latter go toward research studying the physical effects of the oil spill cleanup on workers and first responders.

Wilson was a gentle spirit with an endearing stubborn streak to whom the family referred as “the hardest working man in America.” All of those who knew Wilson and experienced his humorous and easy-going nature feel privileged to have done so. Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” was Wilson’s favorite song of all time, and his friends and loved ones will feel that music from now until they join him and the stars that shone so extraordinarily brightly the night and early hours of March 7th and 8th 2011.