Jane L Hudson

Jane (Stuart) Lehman Hudson of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, went to be with Jesus on November 25, 2021, from her home after a valiant fight with cancer.  She was 73 years old.

Jane was born on March 31, 1948, the third of seven children of Guy Allen and Cecelia “Jill” Zimmermann Stuart of White Pine, Tennessee.  Except for one year spent in Carrollton, Illinois, she spent her entire childhood in White Pine.  After high school graduation, Jane attended the University of Tennessee, where she earned a BS in accounting.  Her first jobs took her to Atlanta and to Phoenix, Arizona. While living in Phoenix, she met and married William L. Lehman.  During the years of their marriage, she and Bill lived in Phoenix, where she worked in the law offices of Bob Goldwater.  After moving to Asheville, North Carolina, Jane worked in the executive offices at Seneca Foods.  Her next position, after Bill’s retirement, took her to Sacramento, California, where she worked at McClellan Air Force Base.  After her position at McClellan, she and Bill moved to the Washington D. C. area where she held positions with NCIX (National Counterintelligence Executive) as executive secretary to the director and later worked as an analyst for the CIA, retiring in 2010.

In 2009 Jane reconnected with Brent Hudson, a graduate of Jefferson City High School, who served in Vietnam with the US Marine Corps and whose mother Elizabeth “Lib” was a lifelong friend of Jane’s mother “Jill”.  As Brent expresses it, “That little five-foot-two, blue-eyed beauty flung a lasso around my heart and that was it.”  (He had already lassoed her heart!) The day of her retirement, she boarded a plane, destination Palmer, Alaska, and she and Brent married immediately, on February 7, 2010.  Jane loved life in Alaska, primarily because it was with Brent!  The couple stayed there until 2012, when they moved to Bonners Ferry.

Friendly and outgoing, Jane made many friends in many localities during her lifetime.  She stayed connected with these friends, no matter where she moved, and prayed for them, especially whenever they were experiencing difficult times. As an expert knitter Jane made items from sweaters and afghans to hats, and she especially enjoyed making baby sweaters for her family’s and friends’ growing families. Finding a new church home was a first priority whenever she moved to a new location.  At the time of her death, she and Brent were members of First Baptist Church in Bonners Ferry.

In 1980 Jane was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer, considered at that time as 100% fatal in five years.  She fought, and with the help of the Lord and His good earthly medical team, she was a survivor.  Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with another type of cancer in 2016, and again she fought powerfully.  Sadly, for us, she lost this second battle.

Jane was preceded in death by William “Bill” Lehman, parents, Guy Allen and Cecelia “Jill” Stuart, and her sister, Suzanne T. Stuart.  Jane is survived by her husband, Charles Brent Hudson, siblings and spouses Sheila (Patrick) Herndon, Allen (Mary Ann), Cecelia (Charles) Crosby, James Christian “Chris” (Lori Ann), Mark (Ruth Ann), brother-in-law Steven H. Hudson, 16 nieces and nephews, numerous grand-nieces and nephews, step-son Robert Lehman and his wife Janet, their four children and 14 grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life service for Jane will be held on Saturday, December 4, at 2:00 pm at the First Baptist Church in Bonners Ferry.  An inurnment service will be held at the home in June, her favorite month of year.

Memorials should be directed to the First Baptist Church of Bonners Ferry.