Pelham, MA – Judith Maddock Hudson died peacefully at her home in Pelham, MA on July 30, 2026, aged 91. She lived a long and rich life, with family, mountains (especially the northern Presidentials of Randolph, NH), music, and travel at the center.
Judy had an adventurous childhood in Boxford, MA. She swung in birch trees, rode horses, threw rocks through the windows of an abandoned barn, tended the family’s Victory garden, and scraped the skin off her face during an ill-advised toboggan race down an ice-crusted hill. Judy was fearless.
Judy was never happier than when she was in the mountains of Randolph, NH – hiking, joining work parties of the Randolph Mountain Club, and anchoring family and community celebrations. Judy spent almost all of her summers in Randolph, where she celebrated her 80th birthday by climbing Mt. Jefferson and then walking home; she arrived at her birthday dinner sunburnt, jubilant, and trailing an exhausted hiking companion 30 years her junior.
Six weeks after graduating from Vassar, she married Al Hudson – a friend of her brother’s from the Putney School. They were married for just shy of 68 adventurous years, acting as a team in everything until Al’s death in 2024.
After their wedding, Judy and Al moved to Berkeley, where they studied at the University of California. Judy worked happily in the music library and earned a master’s degree in music. The next stop was Cornell University, where Judy took intensive Indonesian language classes and assisted Claire Holt in preparing her seminal history of Indonesian art for publication.
In 1962, Judy & Al left the U.S. to spend 18 months in a small village in Borneo, where they jointly did the research that would lead to Al’s dissertation. The years in Borneo had a profound impact on them, cementing their partnership and generous outlook on the world. Judy was inspired by the generosity of the inhabitants of Telang during their stay there; she often said that while she couldn’t possibly repay those particular individuals for their kindnesses, she could pass it along to others. International students at UMass often lived with the Hudson family–some for a day or a week; some for months at a time as they worked to finish dissertations. Homesick Indonesian students joined the Hudsons for meals, holidays, and occasional skiing adventures.
After Al completed his Ph.D. at Cornell, he and Judy moved to Michigan, where their daughter, Kate, was born soon after – followed two years later by son Geoff. In 1971, the family moved to Pelham, MA when Al was hired to teach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Judy was thrilled to be back in New England.
In the Amherst area, Judy found a home and a community. She taught Indonesian language at Hampshire College and was a stalwart supporter of the newly-founded Common School, serving in a variety of roles, from treasurer to recorder teacher. Judy was instrumental in the decision to find a new home for the school rather than closing it when its building was slated for demolition. The Common School continues to thrive in that new home more than 50 years later.
At age 40, after years of playing flute and recorder, Judy took up the viola. She soon joined the Pioneer Valley Symphony, with whom she played from 1982 to 2023. She also played for many years in the orchestra of the Valley Light Opera. She worked as Managing Director of the Pioneer Valley Symphony for nearly 20 years, where she was especially proud of initiating the annual children’s concerts which brought elementary school students from across Franklin County to PVS performances.
Judy was a skilled editor and writing coach, guiding international students at Cornell, Michigan State, UMass, and the University of Washington (as well as her children) towards clear, concise, and error-free English prose. Judy was also an eagle-eyed proofreader. If there are any errors in this obituary, it is because she is not here to proofread it.
In her retirement, Judy devoted more time to writing, publishing three books (as author or editor): Peaks and Paths (a history of trail-making in the northern Presidential mountains of New Hampshire), Trails or Timber (a history of the tensions between the lumber industry and recreational users of the White Mountains), and a volume of essays in honor of the bicentennial of the town of Randolph, NH.
Judy leaves many family and friends, including daughter Kate and son-in-law Gary Malaney (of Pelham); son Geoff, daughter-in-law Alisa Pearson, and granddaughter Willa (also of Pelham); the Maddock family (sister-in-law Margot; nephew Jamie & his wife Sue; niece Elizabeth Dillon and her husband John; and niece Kathy.)
Donations in Judy’s memory can be made to the Pioneer Valley Symphony or the Randolph Mountain Club. We are grateful for the care and support given Judy in the final months of her life by caregivers Irina, Ana, Ira, Daniella, and Vanessa as well as the staff at the Fisher Home.
A memorial service will be held at the South Congregational Church in Amherst, MA on Saturday, October 24 at 3 p.m. All are invited to a reception following the service. There will be an additional service in the beginning of August 2027 in Randolph, NH.
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