By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Richard Hudson first discovered Lakeside while attending a retreat at Sawmill Creek in the mid-1980s. He had recently joined the faculty at the University of Toledo, where his wife had been employed for several years. A colleague asked Richard and his wife, Lynne, whether they knew about Lakeside. Neither had heard of it, so on their way home, they made the short drive across Sandusky Bay to see what it was all about.
“We stopped in and walked around,” Richard said. “We really liked it.”
The Hudsons returned for several visits, staying at a bed and breakfast, and a couple of years later, they brought the whole family for a vacation, renting a large space at Same Time Next Year. The Hudsons eventually decided it was time to find a cottage of their own.
“We started renting for one week,” Lynne said. “The next year it was two weeks, and we added another week each year, eventually renting for an entire month.”
At the end of their last year as renters, Lynne was walking up Poplar Avenue to the Williams Tennis Center and saw two women painting the front porch of a “just the right sized” cottage with a small for sale sign in the window. One was June Galvin, a Toledo judge who later retired from the Ohio Supreme Court. The other was her niece, whose father had recently passed away. It was a Friday, and she planned to put it up for sale the following Monday. She was sad to sell but eager to get back to Maryland and her young son.
“How much do you want for it?” Richard asked. “If we can agree on a price, you won’t have to bother with any more cleaning.”
It was a win-win, with the sale completed by Sunday.
Impressive Careers
Richard and Lynne met while attending Kalamazoo College in Lynne’s hometown. They were both selected for a summer foreign study program. Lynne was headed to France and Richard to Germany.
“There were no men going to France, and we thought that would be a disadvantage,” Lynne said. “When we learned Richard had studied both French and German, my friend Ann and I decided to introduce ourselves and persuade him to come to France instead.”
Richard and Lynne were engaged shortly after returning to college and married a year later.
Richard was a year ahead of Lynne in school, so he worked as a chemist at the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo until Lynne finished her bachelor’s degree. After Lynne graduated, the couple pursued graduate degrees in Richard’s hometown at the University of Chicago. Richard studied chemistry, while Lynne enrolled part-time in French Literature and taught French at DuSable, an all-Black high school across from one of the country’s first subsidized high-rise housing projects.
“It was a great experience for me,” Lynne said. “It was the early 1960’s, a period of great social change. I learned a lot and developed a lifelong commitment to social justice.”
After completing his degree, Richard accepted a teaching position in the medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit. Lynne earned a doctoral degree in educational psychology and hoped to begin teaching at the college level. However, Richard had a suggestion. He thought she would be more marketable in the area with postdoctoral experience.
Richard had a sabbatical coming up, so Lynne applied and received a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) postdoctoral fellowship to study at Harvard. The couple moved to Massachusetts for the following year and Lynne began looking for jobs in the Detroit area as soon as she had access to Harvard stationery. By the time they left Harvard, she had been hired by the University of Toledo, where she worked as an educational psychologist specializing in child development until her retirement.
“I’m glad I followed Richard’s advice because having Harvard on your resume works,” Lynne joked. “I got a good education at Wayne State, but I’m typically introduced as the professor from Harvard.”
After working for several years at Wayne State in the Department of Biochemistry, Richard joined Lynne at the University of Toledo, where he held appointments in pharmacy, chemistry and biology. He served as chair of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, where he created a PhD program and expanded the department from four to eight faculty members. He also served as acting dean of the graduate school for several years prior to his retirement in 2008.
Experiencing Lakeside
Married for 67 years, the Hudsons have built a life in Lakeside filled with educational programs, cultural activities and time spent with friends and neighbors. They enjoy performances at Hoover Auditorium and walks throughout the community. Lynne was also actively involved at the Williams Tennis Campus for several years. Both are members of the Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle, and Lynne served on the Lakeside Property Owners Association Executive Committee until November 2026. They also regularly attend Lunch with the President sessions.
Given their academic backgrounds, it’s no surprise the Hudsons take advantage of Lakeside’s educational offerings. One of their favorites is the World Affairs Forum, held on Friday afternoons during the summer. They particularly enjoyed the discussions moderated by Jeff Dieterich, a retired U.S. diplomat with 35 years of government service. When Dieterich stepped down seven years ago, John Mann, Lakeside’s Director of Education, asked Lynne and Bob Brucken to lead the program. Lynne says the move from participant to moderator wasn’t difficult.
“The transition was smooth because our participants are the major players,” Lynne said. “They are knowledgeable and interested, and they set the agenda each week for the countries we discuss.”
Following their retirement, the Hudsons wintered in Florida and Arizona, but today they call Lakeside home year-round.
“Driving, flying and taking trains across the country every summer became too much,” Lynne said. “We decided it was time to simplify.”
The Hudsons look forward to many more years in Lakeside. After decades of visiting, vacationing and eventually making it home, they agree that there’s something special about the community.
“It’s full of interesting and thoughtful people, which makes for pleasant and stimulating interactions,” Richard said. “It’s a very easy place to be.”
He spends a lot of time gardening and reading. Lynne is more gregarious and is involved in many of the activities Lakeside has to offer.
“There’s something for everybody here,” she said. “That’s because of the Chautauqua pillars. We don’t all like the same things, but we can all find many things to do that we like. What is most special to me is the sense of reciprocity I see. You don’t see that everywhere.”
