Esther Pierce Hudgens

LHS '66

October 29, 1947 - June 6, 2025

Esther Pierce Hudgens, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones on June 6, 2025. Born on October 29, 1947, in Huntsville, Alabama, she was the daughter of the late Robert A. and Esther C. Pierce.

A proud graduate of Lee High School, Class of 1966, Esther met the love of her life, John Hudgens, during those formative years. They would have celebrated 58 beautiful years of marriage this year.

Esther was a longtime member of Holmes Street United Methodist Church, where her faith and community involvement were central to her life. She gave generously of her time and heart, serving in various civic organizations including GFWC AL du Midi Woman’s Club and on the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association Board. Her passion for her hometown and its history was reflected in all she did.

Professionally, Esther was a licensed Dental Hygienist and dedicated many years to serving others through her work. Her care and professionalism left a lasting impact on those she treated and worked alongside.

Esther had a creative spirit and a deep love for beauty, which she expressed through flower arranging—a hobby she pursued with joy and skill. She found peace and inspiration in crafting floral designs, often sharing her creations with loved ones and community events. She was also a devoted animal lover, especially to her cherished dog, Mory. Their bond brought her much comfort and companionship through the years.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Joseph C. Pierce. Esther is survived by her devoted husband, John Hudgens; her loving daughter, Sonya Hudgens Cox;her son-in-law, Doyle Cox; and her brother, Robert Pierce, Jr. She was the proud grandmother of Abigail Chapman (Jimmy) and Mary Sophia Cox, and delighted in her great-grandchildren, Adley Mae Chapman and John Doyle Chapman. Also left to cherish her memory are extended family, Cassandra Holman and family; her cousin, Tina Johnson; sisters-in-law, Peggy Hobbs, Susan (Tom) Whelchel, Laura (Tom) Hardy, and Julie Kenimer; along with numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and a host of treasured friends too numerous to name.

Esther’s warmth, generosity, and vibrant spirit touched all who knew her. Esther lived a full, joyful life, devoted to her family, friends, and faith. Her memory will be deeply cherished and carried in the hearts of all who had the privilege to know her.

Visitation was Monday, June 9, 2025, at Laughlin Service Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial donations be made to the building fund at Holmes Street United Methodist Church, 501 Holmes Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801.

The Wayback Machine

"Surfing U.S.A."

"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with "Shut Down". It was then placed as the opening track on their album of the same name.

The single peaked at number three on the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Billboard ranked "Surfin' U.S.A." the number 1 song of 1963. After being released the song became a concert regular for the band. The band recorded live versions of "Surfin' U.S.A." on several Beach Boys albums.

Goodbye, Brian Wilson

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

(Left Photo: Panama City, 1967     Center Photo: Me Surfing         Right Photo: Honolulu, 1969)

The death of Brian Wilson last week made me very sad. My life had been influenced by him more than I realized at the time it was happening. The conditions were not right for surfing in northern Alabama when I was a student at Lee High School. Our water sport was limited to water skiing, normally on Guntersville Lake. That was where I learned and enjoyed that sport. It took a band from California, singing songs written and performed by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys to draw my attention to the idea that surfing might be a lot of fun as well. Those were pipe dreams at the time, for I had never set foot on the sands of an ocean, not even dipped my toes into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Remember I missed going to Florida on Spring Break of my senior year.

The words of “Surfing U.S.A.” and a few other early hits by the Beach Boys and others like Jan and Dean gave me the desire to try surfing myself, but it would take a while for that desire to be fulfilled.  For the time being, I would have to be content just to sing along and dance to the songs about cars and cruising and surfing and all the wonderful teenage things they covered. And enjoying the music was all I could do the rest of my time in high school.

I was lucky enough to see the Beach Boys live in concert in Memphis, and they still were knocking out surfing tunes and still spreading that surfing life image. It was not until my college days that I finally got to fill that surfing experience on my bucket list. In 1967, my sophomore year, two of my fraternity brothers from Memphis State and I finally made it to the Florida Gulf shores for Spring Break. One of the first things we did was rent surfboards. This was still the early days of the surfer craze and the boards were still just less than ten feet long. It didn’t matter to us that the Gulf waves were lucky to be over three feet high, we still called ourselves surfers. It took a while but eventually I was able to stand up on my rental board without falling and ride it several yards before the wave dissolved. Wipeout!

When I was 23 years old, after I joined the Air Force, I was transferred to Sacramento, California, to attend navigator’s training. Sacramento was not a beach city, but one day I was looking through the want ads and I saw a surf board selling for $40. I bought the ten-foot surfboard and one Saturday I drove the two hours to Half Moon Bay near San Francisco with the board shoved through my trunk and back seat. I did not know that Half Moon Bay was famous for Rip Tides, but luckily I did not encounter any. The surfing conditions were terrible, and so were my skills, but I could claim I surfed in California. The surfboard traveled to Texas with me on my next assignment and when I was moving to Omaha in 1978, I gave it to a friend who has since passed away.

On my first visit to Honolulu, in 1969, I once again rented a surfboard and enjoyed my surfer days the best I could. I did not venture to the North Shore and the giant waves that year, but since I have retired I have been to Hawaii 18 times and was there one year when the giant waves and the surfing contest was being held at Waimea Bay. I watched, but did not participate.

In Texas, we took my daughter Tiffany to her very first concert on April 15, 1978, when she was one year old - to see The Beach Boys.

My last time on a surfboard was a few years ago on another trip to the island,  when I rented and played with a stand-up board, which was not really surfing in my opinion.

Yes, I am sad Brian Wilson passed away at 82. I will always remember attending the Beach Boy concerts and his music. It is the band I have seen the most in person. I have seen them live close to ten times. The last time I saw Brian Wilson in a live concert was in 2016 in a concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the release of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. I am sure the concerts will continue, and I am sure I will continue to attend them given a chance. God only knows.

Our condolences go out to John Hudgens on the loss of his wife and our classmate. We seem to be losing way too many friends these days.

I sometimes feel like I am opening my entire life to you, but sometimes I have the need to write and I just can't come up with an interesting subject at the time. I always hope some of you will send me things to publish, and every once in a while someone does. If you are tired of reading about my life then open up your own to change that. I am sure there are lots of stories we have never heard and would love to read about.

Thanks to my cousin, Merideth Susan Simms, and to Mary Ann Bond Wallace, for their comments made this week. I really do enjoy sharing my experiences with this group.

Lincoln Village, Lincoln School Reunion

Andrea Roberson, Class of '66, wants to share this information with you.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Merideth Susan Simms, LHS '65, "I had no idea of the YMCA's impact on your life. In 2013, I retired from the Armed Services YMCA after some 40+ years in total.  And, along that journey, I discovered the impact the YMCA had on my dad, particularly during his time in World War I (1917-1919) when the YMCA did about 80% of the social service work for the Army. I have had the privilege of working at the local, regional as well as national level of the Y, learning along the way the impact it has had on life in America at all levels.

My personal belief is that it’s the people and their personal commitment to the program that makes all the difference, Good programs are personality dependent.  If you don’t have the right person overseeing the program, it “ain’t” worth a hill of beans!  I have letters from my dad on YMCA stationary that he wrote to his family back in his time overseas."

Mary Ann Wallace, LHS' 64, "I also was connected with a YMCA.  I had been involved with the Huntsville YMCA during the years prior to graduation.  I played basketball there, was certified as a Life Guard and Instructor, and worked at their summer camp during the summers while I was still in high school.  The Huntsville YMCA sent me to the National Aquatic School Certification course as an instructor, which was held in North Carolina.  My parents put me on a Greyhound Bus and talked to the driver.  They insisted I ride in the front seat.  The certification course was held at a Jewish Camp.  It was in the mountains and even the big football players were shaking from the cold water and there were little fish that nibbled on us - nothing but botherson.  I carried several swimsuits and the one I wore the first day was still wet at the end of the week.  My parents drove to the camp to pick me up (I was thrilled to see them, although it was a memory of a lifetime.  I worked at Huntsville's YMCA Camp Cha-Ka-Laka in Guntersville every summer I was in high school.  My final year to work for them was the end of college when I was in charge of the Counselors in Training.  My assistant was Iris Von Braun.  We kept in touch for several years, but as time passed and my marriage in August of the same year our communications became less and less.  I also taught classes at the YMCA - Lifeguard Certification, tumbling classes, etc.  My years working for the Y and as a lifeguard at a neighborhood were some of my most precious memories.

I was so glad to see your newsletter and your involvement with your YMCA.  It was and is still a wonderful organization.

I look forward to every newsletter and thank you for opening my eyes to what everyone else was doing and the memories are wonderful to read each month.  Thank you Tommy for my lost memories and the ability to search my thoughts of what I was doing during the years at Lee and hearing what my classmates' memories.  I love reading each person's response of their memories."