Maxine Hudson U.S. History teacher made history!

[We lost Maxine on November 18, 2022. Any contributions to this campaign after her death will be used towards funeral home expenses or loans exceeding six digits which paid for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by either of her insurances (Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield) for her nursing home care and transportation costs to medical appointments during the last year and a half of her life and will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Shera Lynn Hudson, daughter, North Charleston High Class of '68.]

Maxine Taylor Hudson, dedicated and loving wife of the late Dr. Herschel C. Hudson of Charleston and wonderful mother to Shera Lynn Hudson of Stone Mountain, GA was lost to us all at the age of 94 on November 18, 2022. Her contributions to the community and state were enumerable. For thirty-eight years, she taught U.S. History, Government, and Economics to North Charleston High School students whom she loved and wanted them to know what they should to become good citizens and successful in life. She was their Junior Class sponsor for many years and served as Social Studies Chairperson and on the Superintendent's Advisory Board. She was chosen as Star Teacher and three times as a national Taft Fellow. She wrote the first integrated history of the state of South Carolina and was the first woman to complete a degree from The Citadel (December 1969.) She was honored during Women's History Month in 2014. Her sharp quick mind, great sense of humor, and the wavy raven hair and green eyes of her youth will be remembered by many.

During her ninety-four years since 1928, she lived through The Great Depression, the discovery of penicillin and development of the first antibiotics, World War II and the invention of the atomic bomb, the Korean War, cars without heaters or a.c., homes and all other buildings without air conditioning, the invention of color television, the space age, the Vietnam War, development of electric typewriters, men walking on the moon, and the development of personal computers and cell phones and the Internet (the last three long after earning her college degrees.)

Always an avid Gamecocks fan, she met her husband at the University of South Carolina in an orientation for transfer students, she having transferred from Coker College, and he after attending The Citadel, volunteering for the Marines, and having returned from serving in the United States Marine Corps during WWII as a Seagoing Marine aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain and the battleship USS Missouri .

Maxine became a teacher of U.S. History and always kept up with local, national, and world affairs, and rarely missed the opportunity to vote. She also taught economics and was dedicated to making sure students became educated consumers and knew how to determine which was really the best price on various items as well as how to conduct business affairs when they became adults. One of her former history students said he always reads at least the first page of the newspaper every day because she so strongly encouraged them to do so. Another remembers that she was not only a strong teacher academically but also wanted students to develop personal and social skills that would help them in life and that she spent time during class before the Junior-Senior dance to make sure they all knew the proper way to dress, pick up a date, and present corsages. He happily recalls that she was not pleased when he said the way to pick up your date was to drive up and blow the horn, and if she didn't come out quickly to drive off. More remember her for her fairness and faith in ALL of her students' potential. Since Maxine was the Junior Class Sponsor, she was also in charge of the money-raising activities for the Junior-Senior prom event which often involved selling donuts. One year she had to carry a giant stuffed dog all around the school because the Junior Class surpassed the fund-raising goal, and that was the deal they had made with her. She sponsored one grade of the Y-Teens (the club which was affiliated with the YWCA) for several years, and if on occasion the large group had nowhere else to meet at the time they wanted to meet, the Hudson cars were moved out of the carport and the girls met there.

A Star Teacher and three-time Taft Fellow, she made significant contributions to history education in South Carolina. She was the co-author of the first integrated U.S. History Guide for S.C. students in grades 8 and 11, as well as a contributor to the development of U.S. history and government exit exams for Charleston County Schools. She also introduced the first U.S. History Honors course, early out for students, and observance of President’s Day in Charleston County Schools. She was a member of the Superintendent’s Advisory Board and served as Chairperson of the North Charleston High School History Department for many years.

In the 1960's, Maxine decided she wanted to attend graduate school. Because she was in high school during World War II and the geometry teacher was male and was drafted, she was not taught geometry, so as her daughter I had to teach her geometry for the GRE (Graduate Record Exam.) My high school geometry teacher Mrs. Nell Smith deserves some credit, because Mother did remarkably well on the exam, entered the Citadel Graduate College, and in December of 1969 became the first female to ever complete requirements for a degree from the Citadel and graduated in May of 1970. In their words "...women graduates of The Citadel are contributing as leaders in the military, government and for corporations, but they couldn’t have done it without Maxine Hudson helping pave the way in 1970. She was the first woman to graduate in any capacity from The Citadel." She was honored during Women's History Month 2014.

Maxine lived history, taught history, and made history through both her life and the lives of her students. She was also a loving and devoted wife and an extraordinarily wonderful mother. To see many photos of Maxine in her senior years, please search Maxine Hudson Women's History Month 2014.

This page was originally set up several years ago to raise funds for a special type of physical therapy beyond what her insurance would cover (certified manual therapy) that Maxine needed to remain mobile and independent. Thanks to that and the wonderful services of East Cooper Meals on Wheels, she was able to live independently in her own home until into her nineties, for which she was always extremely thankful. Now that we have all lost Maxine, any contributions to this campaign will be used towards funeral home expenses or non-reimbursed nursing home expenses and transportation and will be greatly appreciated by her daughter.