Robert "Bob" Hudson, age 83, entered into eternal life September 19, 2016, at Brookestone Acres, Columbus, Nebraska.

A graveside service will be held Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 1:00 PM at Roselawn Memorial Cemetery with Rev. Seong Lee officiating with military honors by the American Legion Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard. There will be no visitation. Memorials may be directed to the American Heart Association, Columbus United Methodist Church Building Fund, or the donor's choice.

Bob was born in Lincoln, Nebraska to Vergil "Red" and Gertrude (Watson) Hudson on January 29, 1933. The family resided in Lincoln until Bob was 10-years-old, when they moved to Norfolk, Nebraska. In 1948, the Hudson family moved to Columbus, Nebraska, where Bob continued to live the rest of his life.

He was a 1952 graduate of Kramer High School. Shortly after graduation, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served 4 years from 1953 to 1957, with an honorable discharge. He was a Korean War Veteran. While in the U.S. Navy, Bob was assigned to the Admiral's staff, Commander Carrier Division Three. He served aboard five aircraft carriers: USS Midway, USS Philippine Sea, USS Wasp, USS Oriskany, USS Yorktown, most of the time operating in the South China Sea and Formosan Straights. The carriers visited ports in Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippine Islands, Tachen Island, Okinawa, and Hawaii. Aboard ship Bob worked in the Air Intelligence office handling Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret materials. He was required to have "secret security clearance" to work with this material.

Following his discharge from the U.S. Navy, Bob returned to Columbus and was employed by the Railway Express office and Star Oil Company. In 1960, Bob joined Becton-Dickinson in Columbus, where he worked for 34 years, retiring in 1994.

On August 21, 1960, Bob was united in marriage to Norma Jantz in Omaha, Nebraska. Bob and Norma became parents of two lovely daughters, Lynne and Christy. The couple lived their entire married life in Columbus. They had the good fortune to travel extensively in the U.S. and abroad.

Bob had a lifelong hobby of racing homing pigeons. This interest was sparked by a library book he read as a child about a fictional homing pigeon. Until recent years, he raised and raced competitively with the Platte Valley Homing Pigeon Club and was member of that club. He had extensive knowledge of all breeds of pigeons. Another of his interests was aircraft, and could name most every airplane ever built. He could tell you where and why it was made, whether for military, commercial, or private use. Bob constructed close to 50 small scale models of planes, ships, and cars. These models had hundreds of pieces and parts to complete them.

Bob was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the VFW. He was most proud of his family and their accomplishments.

Bob is survived by:
Wife: Norma Hudson of Columbus, NE
Daughter: Lynne (William) Brooks of Columbus, NE
Daughter: Christy (Dave) Braunger of Sioux City, IA
Grandchildren: Christopher Hamling of Omaha, NE
Taryn (Mike) Pagel of Omaha, NE
Courtney Hamling of Columbus, NE
Dr. Joshua (Melissa) Widhalm of West Lafayette, IN
Brenton (Jessy) Widhalm of Columbus, NE
Nicholas Widhalm of Columbus, NE
Great-Grandchildren: Gracelyn Pagel of Omaha, NE
Kynnlee Hamling of Columbus, NE
Reid and Daniel Widhalm of West Lafayette, IN
Carter and Gavin Widhalm of Columbus

Bob was preceded in death by:
Parents: Vergil and Gertrude Hudson
Brother: Jim Hudson
Grandparents
Numerous Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins