DORIS WATSON HUDSON

We regret to announce the passing of Doris W. Hudson, 84, of Salisbury, NC formerly of Savannah Creek, SC who entered into eternal rest peacefully at her residence on Thursday, May 18, 2023. Doris will forever be the loving mother of Ernestine, Tanya and Tanay Elyse Hudson; loving grandchildren: Jamel Hudson, Briana Floyd, Tania Allman; loving sister: Elizabeth Grant (Duke) and a host of loving relatives and friends.

Mrs. Doris was preceded in death by her husband Robert Hudson.

Continue to keep the Watson and Hudson family in your prayers. You are welcome to leave your condolences on our Tribute Wall.

LIFE REFLECTIONS OF MRS. DORIS W. HUDSON

Doris Hudson was born January 17, 1939 in Jamestown, South Carolina to Isabelle Whitaker and Eddie Lee Watson. For the early years of Doris life she was reared by her grandparents, Harriet and George Whitaker and her beloved aunts and uncles, Martha and Harry and Roy and Louise.

Around the age of 9, she moved to New York City with her mother and new baby sister Elizabeth. She then went back and forth from South Carolina to the Harlem section of New York until the age of 17. Doris attended New Emmanuel AME Church while growing up in Jamestown, SC and would purpose in her heart to visit when she made trips to South Carolina. She attended Jamestown Elementary School, Russellville High School and graduated from Washington Irving High School in New York City.

One day in 1955 while with her best friend Corrine in Harlem, she asked Doris to help her wash some clothes for her nephew who was on his way to New York from the South. Of course, Doris obliged. Little did she know, she would meet the love of her life.

Once Corrine's nephew, Robert Hudson, laid eyes on Doris, they were inseparable. Let Doris tell it, Robert had no chance at being her beau because he was "country." But Robert didn't hesitate to tell Doris he would be his wife. From there, their friendship began. After welcoming their first child, Ernestine, on May 27, 1958, they were married on April 30, 1960, in front of friends and family at her mother's home at the NYCHA General Grant Houses.

After they started their life together, they welcomed two more children, Wanda (deceased) on May 17, 1961 and Tanya on January 5,1966. They raised their children in the NYCHA East River Houses and NYCHA Weldon Johnson Houses before moving to Queens Village in 1974.

Doris worked in the healthcare field at nursing homes in New York City but she had an entrepreneurial spirit. After they settled in Queens, Doris opened up her own candy store on Hollis Avenue and it was frequented by the children of the neighborhood. She was also a salesperson for Amway. Doris was a member of Marantha Baptist Church, Queens, NY.

One thing Doris was known for was her cooking. In 2005, she capitalized on her skills and began selling fish and chicken dinners on the weekends until her health issues slowed her down.

Once her three daughters were grown, Doris and Robert thought their days of raising children were over. But in 1989, they took in their granddaughter. Tanay Hudson (Tanya), whom they later adopted and deemed their fourth daughter. They also helped raise their beloved grandson. Jamel Hudson (Ernestine) who had an especially close bond with Doris.

Those that preceded her in death: Sadly, her daughter Wanda Hudson-Floyd preceded her in death due to cancer on August 15, 2003. Her special niece Angellia Grant-Gilbert also died of cancer on April 25, 2015. Doris' parents Isabell and Eddie Lee Watson and her grandson Antonio Soares.

After being in love for 56 years, her beloved husband preceded her in death on January 14, 2011. Years after his death, she, Ernestine and Jamel settled in Salisbury, North Carolina where Doris spent the rest of her life.

Doris leaves behind her daughters, Ernestine, Tanya and Tanay and her grandchildren Jamel of Queens, New York, Briana Floyd of Brooklyn, New York and Tania Allmon of Charlotte, North Carolina; her sister Elizabeth Grant (Duke) of the Bronx, New York, just like a sister Shirley Harvey (Otis) of Jamestown, South Carolina; her niece and nephews Vicki, Craig and Spencer Addison of Florida and South Carolina respectively, and Rory Gilbert of the Bronx, New York; special cousins Claudia Lee (Isaac) Varnish of South Carolina, Inez Beauford of Queens, New York, Ruby Knight of South Carolina, and Eugene Smalls of Summerville, South Carolina; goddaughter Lisa Wynn of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Doris also leaves behind bonus granddaughters brought into her life by Jamel; Richera Jones (Damon Weeks) and O'Neida Worrell. Doris also leaves behind best friends Rosalyn Wilkins of Queens, New York, Dorothy Scott of Queens, NY, Mildred Savage of Charlotte, North Carolina, Marion Wynn of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Novella Hendrix of Florida and Phyllis Wright of Salisbury, North Carolina and a host of other loving relatives and friends.

SERVICE DETAILS:

Viewing will be held on Sunday, May 28, 2023 from 4:00pm - 6:00pm at Divinity Mortuary.

Life Celebration Service of Mrs. Doris W. Hudson will be held on Monday, May 29, 2023 at 12:00 Noon at The Jamestown Steel Shed, 116 Steel Shed Ln. Jamestown, SC 29483 

Services will be live streamed on Divinity Mortuary Facebook page.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.