Julie Cunningham “Jules” Hudkins Jan. 24, 1944 - Jan. 14, 2020 GRANGER, IN - Julie C. “Jules” Hudkins, 75, passed away on January 14, 2020 in Memorial Hospital after a courageous fight. Born January 24, 1944, she was the daughter of the late John and Mary (Omacht) Cunningham and the granddaughter of the late George and Julia (Ritchie) Omacht. On March 31, 1967 Julie married Keith P. Boulac and on January 2, 1992, she married Martin D. Hudkins. She is survived by her loving husband, Marty; her two children, Patrick Boulac and Matthew (Sarah) Boulac; her two stepchildren, Angela (Marty) Heirty and Melissa (Mark) Farmer; and her eight grandchildren, Lauren Heirty, Kaija Boulac, Daphne Boulac, Addyson Farmer, Simon Boulac, Lucy Heirty, Grayson Farmer, and Oliver Boulac. Julie became fascinated with French culture early in her life after spending a summer in Paris when she was 13. After graduating as Valedictorian of her senior class at South Bend Central High School, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in French from Purdue University and continued her education in her home town of South Bend with a Masters Degree in Teaching from the University of Notre Dame. Her love of foriegn language led her to a career in education as a forign language teacher at Schmucker Middle School where she taught for over 20 years until her retirement in 2006. She was an avid reader and multilingual, including Spanish and French. Jules and Marty loved to travel and Julie enjoyed immersing herself in the culture, art and history of the countries she visited. Late in life, Julie was able to connect with her half sisters, Lee and Lucy Cunningham of Arizona and spent many hours catching up with them over the years. Christmas was Julie's favorite time of year. She reveled in buying presents for her grandchildren, usually starting months in advance and putting the presents in large “Santa Sacks” for each grandchild. Julie is remembered by her family as loving and generous and she was always in search of her next animal to rescue. She was a member of the Elk's Lodge, Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, and was a lifetime member of the Junior League. Jules was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and enjoyed spending as much time with her grandchildren as possible. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed. A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, at the McGann Hay, Granger Chapel, enter off Cherry Rd. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Leader Dogs for the Blind, 1039 S. Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48307. To send condolences to the family, please visit www.McGannHay.com.
01/19/2020 JFC
