Obituary of Elizabeth Cheek "Betty" Hudson

Elizabeth Cheek Hudson “Betty”, cherished wife, mother, grandmother, and friend died peacefully in her home on March 12, 2025 after living a life filled with grace, warmth, and love. Her genuine kindness and fierce loyalty deepened her many family connections and lifelong friendships throughout her eighty-seven years. 

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, she was born on January 26, 1938 to Maurice, a Fort Worth lawyer, and Mary Amelia Cheek. Friends noted that she always had her nose in a book, whether in grammar school at North Hi Mount or while attending The Hockaday School in Dallas. For college, Betty attended Briarcliff and the University of Texas at Austin where she enjoyed literary analysis and classes in Greek mythology and comparative religion. She pledged Pi Beta Phi sorority and maintained impressively high grades.

During college she reconnected with Bill Hudson whom she met on horseback at a Dude Ranch in Fort Worth while in her early teens. Bill liked to say that he and Betty “rode off into the sunset together” when they married in Fort Worth on a snowy day in January of 1961.

Betty and Bill enjoyed sixty-three years of married life full of travel adventures, Burmese cats, and lifelong friends. Following their honeymoon in Acapulco, Betty and Bill moved to New York, living in a rent-controlled apartment on 5th Avenue while Bill studied tax law at New York University and Betty worked in sales at Tiffany & Co. She invested her paychecks in a beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Waffles, who returned to Fort Worth with them when they moved back in 1962. In 1965, Bill and Betty welcomed their daughter, Emily.

Betty developed her passion for beauty at an early age and cultivated it throughout her life. She especially loved arthouse films, classical music, and avant-garde dance.  She handled the Betamax video player and recorder with unrivalled sophistication at its inception in the mid-70’s and Emily grew up watching Fellini, Truffaut, and Kurosawa films in addition to Saturday morning cartoons.  Betty’s home on Valley Ridge Road reflected her special flair for interior design. 

In addition to beautifying their living space as daughter Emily was growing up, Betty made time to volunteer and participate in community endeavors, even while taking Emily to daily horseback riding lessons in Aledo and to North Texas competitions on many weekends. She became quite adept at loading Emily’s horse in the trailer! Betty was a member of The Junior League of Fort Worth, Jewel Charity, Colonial Dames, and The Assembly, serving as Assembly president in 1997.

Betty and Bill traveled extensively. Memorable international destinations included walking tours coast-to-coast in England and in the Black Forest in Germany in the 1990s. In Santa Fe, where she and Bill bought a second home in 1991, Betty enjoyed mushrooming, hiking with Bill, shopping at the Santa Fe Flea Market, and watching the incomparable City Different sunsets. Betty was an avid devotee of The Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, William A. Hudson II.  She is survived by brother, Robert Caldwell Cheek; daughter, Emily Terrell Hudson; grandchildren, Anand William P. Hudson and Anjali Josephine P. Hudson; nephews, Edward Randall Hudson III (and his wife, Carolyn) and Jonathan Cheek (and his wife, Laura); and nieces, Frasher Hudson Pergande (and husband, John), Terrell A. Ledford (and husband, Ryan), and Laura Llanso (and husband, Aaron). 

The family wishes to thank Dr. Allan Kelly, Claudia Williams, Yvonne Moncho, and Precious Agudike for their dedicated service. 

A private graveside service will be followed by a memorial gathering at the family home on March 21, at 4:30 p.m. 

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests memorial contributions to be given to Betty’s favorite charities: Saving Hope Animal Rescue, Meals on Wheels, and the Tarrant County Food Bank.