Charles Dudley Meadows, Jr.

Charles Dudley Meadows Jr

Born in Oak Ridge, TN, to Charles Dudley Meadows and Marguerite (Gillespie) Meadows, Dudley grew up in Signal Mountain, TN, attending Signal Mountain Elementary, Signal Mountain Junior High and Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church. 

He was in the Scouts, played Gra-Y softball and, most significantly, junior golf at Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club. This sport really took and by the time he was a senior at Chattanooga High School, he was on the school team and travelling the southeast for tournaments. Golf remained a lifelong passion. 

Dudley also worked part-time at Hardie and Caudle men’s shop, then a cornerstone of fashionable attire in Chattanooga. This experience left him with a keen eye and an insatiable appetite for quality clothes. Among his friends, he was well known for his sartorial excellence. 

Dudley graduated from City High in 1965 and went on to the University of Tennessee (go Vols) on a ROTC scholarship. There he pledged Kappa Sigma and made many lifelong friends. In 1969 he graduated from UT with a BSc in Economics and took up his commission in the US Air Force. Stationed at the Little Rock AFB, he attained the rank of Captain, serving as a Combat Crew Commander of a Titan II ICBM facilities. 

He also caught the eye of Paula Wiggs from Cabot. They married in 1973 and in 1976 welcomed into the world their son, Charles Dudley Meadows III, known as Chas. Their union ended in 1978 and he had one further marriage, to Susan Clark (1995 to 2000). In 2012 he became a proud grandfather with the birth of Cora Evelyn Meadows. 

When he left the Air Force in 1973 Dudley began working for the State of Arkansas. 

He also attended night school and earned two further degrees, an MBA from University of Utah and a law degree from UALR. He served the State until his retirement as legal advisor for the Department of Finance and Administration, Office of State Procurement. 

Besides his devotion to golf, Dudley threw himself whole-heartedly into many pastimes. He loved to travel, especially internationally, worked tirelessly fixing up his 1970 Karmann Ghia and Craftsman-style house in Hillcrest and, after retirement, began woodworking classes at the university. Usually the oldest (and slowest) person in the class, he sweated bullets over each assignment but always came through in the end. With his close friends he cycled in the annual Big Dam Bridge race, sailed on Lake Maumelle and also took great pleasure in ‘chasing’ for his friend’s hot air balloon business. Less tiring pursuits included fine dining and sociable drinking and, always, looking for love. 

He took great pride in his son and granddaughter and relished the company of his many cousins: the Gillespie family reunion was the highlight of every summer. 

Dudley had a close relationship with his younger sister, Janice, and especially enjoyed their times together visiting art galleries. He was a devoted son to Marguerite and Dudley, frequently making the long drive to Chattanooga to be with them. In 2020-21 he moved in with his dad to care for him during his final illness. In happier times he accompanied his parents on several trips to Europe. 

He passed away on July 25th, two weeks after his 78th birthday, from recent complications stemming from his treatment for throat cancer in 2011.

Dudley is survived by his son Charles and his granddaughter Cora, of Oak Park, IL, and his sister Janice Meadows and brother-in-law Malcolm Green, of Hamilton, NZ.

Following cremation at Smith Little Rock Funeral Home, his ashes will be interred in the family plot in Dalton, GA, joining those of his parents. A wake is planned for later in the year.