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Tom Huddleson
Thomas Malcom “Tom” Huddleson, was born March 14, 1949 at Lankenau
Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa, the second of five children born to the
Rev. Howard D. and Glenda S. (neeFrick) Huddleson. He died April 5,
2009 at the Ogallala Community Hospital after a long struggle with
complications from liver failure.
Due to his father’s calling as a Methodist minister, the family
moved on the average of once every two years when Huddleson was a
youth. Subsequently his upbringing was against an alternating
background of Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountain anthracite coal
region, the Philadelphia urban area and Amish farm country.
Huddleson graduated from Williams Valley High School, located then
in Tower City, Pa., in June of 1967, with high honors. Among his
high school accomplishments were National Merit Scholar finalist
status, U.S. Senatorial appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy (Sen.
Hugh Scott, R-Pa.), authorship of his senior class play, and
attendance at the American Legion’s 1966 Keystone Boys State. He
also took college credit courses during his high school senior year
at Pottsville campus of Penn State University in a gifted student
program. Despite National Merit offers from over 40 major colleges
and universities, Huddleson’s ambition was to be a Marine officer
and he was devastated when admission to Annapolis was denied due to
his poor eyesight.
He entered Kutztown State College (Pa.) as a late entry and went
through a succession of majors before settling on English. He
graduated from Kutztown State, with high honors, in May of 1971 with
a major in English and minors in music, philosophy, anthropology and
Spanish. He was the Emma Deatrick Prize winner of the Class of ’71,
given to the graduating English major with highest academic
standing. His undergraduate achievements included various positions
on the college newspaper, The Keystonian; and four years on the
college literary magazine, Essence, staff including being
editor-in-chief 1969-1971. Huddleson was instrumental in converting
both publications from “hot lead” to off-set printing. He was
co-founder and first president of the college’s photography club.
For two years he enjoyed playing the big bass drum in the college’s
award-winning marching band and was a percussionist in the school’s
symphony orchestra.
In the spring of 1970, Huddleson married his high school sweetheart,
Rosemary Hepler of Tremont, Pa. No offspring were born to this
union. Huddleson matriculated at Purdue University 1971-72 where he
taught mass media as a teaching assistant. He left the university
after a year and lived briefly in Albuquerque, NM where he held a
variety of short term jobs. In 1973 he entered the Graduate Writing
Workshop at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO where he
taught composition classes as an English Department teaching
assistant. He withdrew from the university in 1975, with his thesis
approved and lacking only three credits for a MA in creative
writing.
In 1975 he married Colleen Alberts of Ft. Collins. To this union in
1977 a daughter was born, Lily Geneva Huddleson, at Otterbein, Ind.
In 1976 Huddleson had returned to Purdue University where he earned
an MA in English in 1977 while teaching remedial English as a
teaching assistant.
Following a year
of doctoral work, Huddleson moved to Ogallala, NE, where he worked
for various local businesses including Humphries Auto Parts, Haggard
Drilling and RSB Construction.
In 1980 he moved to
Geneva, NE, where he worked construction jobs. He married Connie M.
Corbett of Friend, NE, at Chester, Pa., on January 14, 1982. The
couple was wed by the groom’s father. To this union a son, Nicholas
“Nick” Wayne Huddleson was born January 17, 1988, at Fillmore County
Hospital in Geneva.
From 1981 until 2002, Huddleson worked in various editorial and
managerial capacities at the Nebraska Signal, Geneva; the Alliance
Daily Herald at Alliance, NE; and the Keith County News at Ogallala.
During his tenure in Geneva, he also taught college classes in
composition and history as an instructor in the Southeast Community
College –Beatrice satellite campus. As a journalist, editor and
managing editor, Huddleson or his newsroom earned approximately two
dozen awards from the Nebraska Press Association, the National
Newspaper Association and the Nebraska Associated Press. He served
on the board of directors of the Nebraska Associated Press Managing
Editors Association for three years, the third years as vice
president. As of this writing, Huddleson’s newsroom remains the
smallest ever to win the AP’s most prestigious honor, the Mark Twain
Award. Despite being an ardent Democrat, Huddleson was named an
admiral in the mythical Nebraska Navy by Republican Gov. Kay Orr.
Huddleson was preceded in death by his mother. He is survived by his
wife, Connie of Ogallala; the couple’s children, Tracy Corr and
husband Brian and Nick Huddleson all of Lincoln, NE; his father, the
Rev. Howard D. Huddleson of Lancaster, Pa.; his brothers, Daniel J.
Huddleson and life partner Tootsie Michaels of Williamstown, Pa.,
and David W. and wife Pamela of Clay, NY; sisters, Susan E.
Hambleton and husband C. Thomas “Tom” of Quaryville, Pa. and Ruth E.
Frankhouser and husband Brian of New Holland, Pa.
Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10th at
the Gubser Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Mark Carlton of the New
Hope Church officiating. Cremation was chosen and there will be no
visitation. Online condolences may be sent at gubserfuneralhome.com.
Gubser Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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