Edward V. Hudson

Obituary Edward V. Hudson Longtime owner of Peerless Laundry and civic leader, Ed V. Hudson died June 7, 2008 at age 93. He leaves behind his daughter Carolyn, son Ed, daughter-in-law Dorothy and grandchildren Hilary and Heather to rejoin his wife Margy who died in 2004. He called it "starting out the hard way". Ed was born in Seymour, Missouri on April 3, 1915 to Marion and Alma Hudson; from where at age 4 Alma brought him with her to Tacoma ending contact with his father. And here, downtown on Pacific Avenue, Ed was sent out to sell flowers and the Tacoma Ledger when not in school at Bryant or Stewart. But he never said how it was that at age 12 he came into an opportunity allowing him eventually to gain control over choices in his life. This was his move north, away from family, for hard work on Ellroy McCaw's farm at the foot of Toad Hill just east of Bellingham; where milking cows, slaughtering live stock [not liked], herding cattle, and harvesting hay filled the days between time in class at Harmony High School, playing basketball and learning what he could do [and not] at boxing. Ed went on to college at Bellingham Normal where he met " my supporter", Margy Greely. With earnings from a milk route [a business he and Ellroy partnered together], foundry work, fish slimming, flag lowering, and waiting tables he paid for college and bought his first new car, a Ford. In 1937 he transferred to the University of Washington, but in the next year, with our country still in the Depression, he wanted steady work. As a result he moved back to Tacoma and into the Carleton Hotel with a college mate while the two partnered in owning the Metropolitan Laundry on Center Street. For a time, Ed tried to continue his electrical engineering classes in spite of the commute. But soon he chose his destiny by selling out to the friend in 1939 and buying the closed down Peerless Laundry on South 12th Street with Al Anderson [brother of Ed's future good friend, "Big John"]. Then, with financial help from Margy and some other college friends, including one from Spokane, whom he never did meet [she being a friend's girl friend], Ed bought out Al's interest. Meanwhile, he and yet a fourth partner were operating out of Peerless an electrical wiring business that Ed now sold to the partner. At year's end he and Margy married on Christmas Eve. During the war years of the 40s Peerless grew rapidly under a strong demand for laundry services at Fort Lewis and the newly opened McChord Field. A somewhat surprisingly kept memory from then, was his appreciation of labor leader Dave Beck making sure Tacoma laundries did not close under the pressure of wage negotiations. And so, by the 1950s, Ed was also servicing hospitals and supporting a payroll that had grown to around 200 employees working out of six locations between Everett and McChord [he also found time to sponsor and coach little league basketball]. A fifth partnership of his ran the Everett facility until the partner became Ed's employee. For a time in the 1990s, Peerless moved into the fashion business by bleaching new jeans and dyeing t-shirts, some with a product causing colors to change from the heat of the wearer's body. Around 2000, Ed began a niche service to top end restaurants by signing a contract with the "Anthony's" chain. At age 90 in June of 2005, with his most active life over and having twice rebuilt Peerless' business as a result of major fires in 1974 and 1988, and yet still working 55 hour weeks, he sold ?" Peerless then becoming Tomlinson Linen Service. Ed was a leader within the laundry industry and in civic affairs. He went on the Board of the International Fabricare Institute to later become its President in 1981. He was a long time member of the Defense Orientation Civilian Association [DOCA]. For 17 years he was a Trustee of United Mutual Bank. He held top leadership positions in local organizations to include the Northwest Laundry Association, Tacoma Boys Club, Tacoma Utility Board, Rotary 8, Afifi Shrine, Elks, Chamber of Commerce, United Good Way, and the Air Force and Army Associations. He co-chaired Tacoma School millage elections as well as Big John's last campaign for Mayor and served as an Elder at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. He was a Blue Lodge member and a member of the Tacoma Golf and Country Club. After work on Saturday mornings, the rest of Ed's weekend was usually spent with family - often on car trips well beyond the normal to visit family and friends. There were day drives to places like Yakima or around the Olympic Peninsula. Given two days, he might drive to Spokane or Vancouver B.C. And with an infrequent three and four day weekend, he would drive, as he did still in his 80's, to cities some distance away like San Francisco and Kamloops. He had a handful of longer vacations, but never for more than 30 days. There was one when he, Margy and Carolyn witnessed the start of Israel's six days war in Egypt and learned it of it being over upon arrival in Nice on the way to a Rotary International meeting in Paris. However when summer arrived he preferred spending his time at the beach house in South Vaughn on most weekends gazing across Case Inlet to a view of the Olympics and having no phone. Life as enjoyed by dad was one of hard work, long days, community service, generosity, inquisitiveness, closeness to family and friends and an appreciation of the likes of a red sunset, warm outside evenings, good conversation, fresh wild blackberry pie alamode or oysters just up from the beach cooked on the half shell. Once Peerless sold, he instigated a weekly family dinner outing that carried on for two years, often to Anthony's "Harbor Lights". Ed, with the indispensable help of Carolyn, has been living at Franke Tobey Jones where he was using his computer and avidly reading non-fiction varied among subjects like Middle Eastern history, biography, business history, and science. Summing up his years of work he said, "I am most proud of having stayed good friends with all five former partners". Ed and family are most appreciative of the help from doctors Neil Hannigan and Gregory Arnette along with the dialysis teams at the Franciscan center in Gig Harbor and St. Joseph's Hospital, and also St. Joseph's OC & PT therapy teams, the staff of its ICU Charlie unit and everyone at Tobey Jones, in making it possible to enjoy the last few years of life in spite of adjustments to the vagaries of chronic kidney disease. Interment will be in the New Tacoma Cemetery at 10 AM, Saturday, June 14, followed by a Memorial Service at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 901 N "J", starting at 1 PM. A reception will follow at the Tacoma Elks Club (174) on South Union. A donation to your favorite charity is all you need consider.