ADA, Okla. - The family of Candy Lynn Hudson has established a scholarship endowment at East Central University in her memory.
The Candy Lynn Hudson Education Scholarship will be awarded to an incoming first year student who is majoring in Education. It is intended for students from southeastern Oklahoma, with first preference given to Coal County graduates.
This $1,000 annual scholarship is renewable for up to eight semesters, so long as all qualifying criteria are maintained.
“We are so pleased the Hudson family is honoring the long and distinguished career of Candy Lynn. Education is very important and this legacy will provide support for future educators,” said John Hargrave, ECU Foundation CEO.
Hudson was born in Ada, Oklahoma in 1954, to Charles and Johnarline Hudson of nearby Coalgate. As a teenager, she was part of the fourth generation to work in the family business, Hudson’s Big Country Store, which was a stalwart fixture of the Coalgate community for 91 years. Candy attended ECU from 1973 -1977, graduating with both her Bachelor and Masters in Education. She began her teaching career in Maysville, Oklahoma, and after one year moved to Denison High School in Texas.
In 1984, Hudson began selling real estate. She was named Rookie Agent of the Year for the Plano, Texas office of the Henry S. Miller agency that year. After several years in the real estate industry, Hudson returned to teaching in 1991 in Plano. She was a Reading Specialist at both Clark High School and Hendrick Middle School until she retired from the Texas system in 2013 to care for her aging mother back in Oklahoma. Hudson later returned to teaching once again at Durant (Okla.) Middle School where she taught from 2018 – 2023.
Hudson passed away in Nov. 2023 after a brief cancer battle.
She was the proud mother of two children, Bethany Hobbs and Ben Waller, both of Allen, Texas. She was blessed with seven grandchildren who all brought great joy and happiness to her life.
During her career, Hudson taught both Special Education and Reading for students who tested below grade level for comprehension. She had a heart for students who had physical, mental, and academic challenges, and her goal was to help all her students succeed to the best of their abilities. For nearly 35 years, she invested her time and talents into the lives of her young pupils.
In her memory, the Candy Lynn Hudson Education Scholarship has been established to help develop the next generation of educators and assist with their academic endeavors.