Thomas Mangus Hudgins of Myrtle Beach, SC passed away peacefully on September 19, 2023 at the age of 83.
Tom is survived by his wife, Sue, his children, Rives and her husband Matt, Tommy and his wife Tracey, and Chris and his wife Amy, as well as his six grandchildren, Samantha, Alex, Abigail, Ryan, Kate, and Claire. In addition to his immediate family, Tom is survived by his sister Katy and brother Ted and their families as well as stepchildren Chuck, Karen and Jim and their families.
Tom was born November 8,1939 in Hartford, CT but spent his early years in Indianapolis, IN and his high school years in Greensboro, NC. Upon graduating high school, Tom attended Davidson College in North Carolina and then went on to earn his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He subsequently moved to New York to begin his career at Arthur Young & Co. accounting Firm. He was the youngest ever to be named Partner at the firm, and rose to become the Managing Director of the New York office at Ernst and Young after Arthur Young merged with Ernst and Whinney.
While he loved his career, it was the many opportunities that his job afforded him to develop close friendships, and a passion for travel and experiencing new cultures that he truly loved. He and Sue traveled the globe throughout their marriage, and visited all seven continents of the world. His experiences helped him to recognize the importance of looking beyond the day-to-day, and he shared this perspective with his family by taking them on a “trip of a lifetime” to Africa. His generosity in sharing his experiences will never be forgotten.
Tom loved his family deeply but the true extent of his love was never felt or shown more than with his grandchildren; he truly found a freedom of expression and comfort in living in the moment with each of them. Whether it was playing fantasy football, talking about sports, or learning their newest lingo, he loved being a part of it all with them. They will forever remember his laugh, the bartending skills he fostered, and his love for the beach.
If you knew Tom, you knew he loved cocktail hour each day to muse about topics of the day while also enjoying a bourbon (almost exclusively Wild Turkey 101). He was the consummate host and delighted in opportunities to cook and further his bartending skills. Other hobbies included his daily sudoku, working on puzzles, and collecting stamps.
Tom‘s love of Sue’s alma mater, Cedar Crest College, and its mission to transform the lives of students at all stages of life and experience, led Tom to establish the Thomas M. Hudgins and Susan Everitt Hudgins ’64 Endowed Scholarship for Adult Learners.
In lieu of flowers and in memory of Tom, donations to this scholarship may be made online at www.cedarcrest.edu/give or mailed directly to;
Cedar Crest College
Office of Institutional Advancement
100 College Drive
Allentown, PA 18104
(Please note in the memo section of the check, Hudgins Adult Learner Scholarship)
A celebration of Tom’s life will be held on September 29, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Myrtle Beach, 3810 Robert M. Grissom Parkway, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.