[img]2704|right|Rick Hudson||no_popup[/img]Friends were shocked over the weekend to learn of the sudden death of Rick Hudson, business owner, Parks Commissioner and perhaps Culver City’s most devoted, involved youth sports leader.

He was 61 years old.

Mr. Hudson was hiking on Saturday in a state park in New Mexico with his 19-year-old son Travis when he was felled by a massive heart attack and was unable to respond to CPR.

The Hudsons recently had arrived in New Mexico to visit relatives.

Services will be announced when Mr. Hudson’s wife Terri and Travis return home.

“Rick was everywhere at Culver City High School,” said Hector Martinez, a longtime employee of Culver Glass, a family-owned business for decades.

“He coached the girls. He coached the boys. He was everything at the high school except the principal.”

[img]2703|left|||no_popup[/img]Was there any doubt that Mr. Hudson, in his final term as chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, loved and participated in athletics more than any other resident of Culver City.

Football.

Baseball.

Softball.

With an unrivaled passion that coursed and churned from his familiar moustachioed face down to his toes, Mr. Hudson not only coached but feverishly cared about athletic coaching, whatever the sport, for students.

His legacy will repose in grateful choruses of young people and some who are less young.

In the main office of Rick and Terri Hudson’s Culver Glass enterprise, a visitor – whether regular or new – would have no idea about the color of the walls. They may be purple or shimmering green or red. No one has known for years.  Scores of family photos and, above all, pictures of smiling teams Mr. Hudson helped coach line the walls, floor to ceiling.

Congeniality, friends said, was his calling card. Seldom seen without being dressed in a sincere smile and a friendly greeting, he was a towering personality. His death, said a friend, has created a significant cavity in the community.