Honoring Sara
After tragedy, family shares loved one’s passion for fishing
A random scrap of paper tells so much about Sara Hudson, whose life was tragically cut short by a random murder on Lower Greenville in 2019.
Hudson’s aunt, Eugenia King, happened upon a note with security questions for one of her niece’s accounts as she was going through her belongings. Among the prompts was the question, “Favorite gift.”
Her answer, King said, embodied her spirit.
“Life!” the 22-year-old wrote.
“The perpetrator is behind bars for life, and we are all trying to wade through the grief of this senseless crime,” King said. “The family wants Sara to be remembered for the joy she pursued life with, her loyalty to friendships, and her genuine sense of wanting to help others.”
They want her remembered not for the way she died — an act she had no say in — but instead for who she was.
“We want to tell folks, ‘This happened, but she’s wonderful, and we want to tell that story — and here’s what we’re doing with our grief and sadness and pain as we want to bring joy to others who have gone through their own grief.”
King and her husband, Frank-Paul, own Temple Fork Outfitters, a fishing rod manufacturer. Hudson lived with the Kings in their Preston Hollow home through high school and parts of college, and they were the ones who stoked her interest in the outdoors and fishing.
Her enthusiasm for life in general and the outdoors, in particular, was always present, her family said.
“Sara had a favorite saying — ‘Best Day Ever,’” King said. “She used this frequently, particularly describing any day in the outdoors — even if it was not a ‘successful’ fishing trip or hike or hunting trip, it was still a ‘best day ever.’”
Her joy for life, her aunt said, is what the world has lost.
“She was loyal, she was a wonderful confidant and friend, and I think that’s what the community has lost — the opportunity to have a relationship with her and experience the love of life she exuded and the way she helped others to have that same love of life.”
When the family began looking for ways to honor Hudson, they knew it would need to involve the outdoors.
The answer came from an organization the Kings were already involved with — Project Healing Waters, which takes wounded veterans on five-night fishing excursions. Through the newly-established Sara Hudson Memorial Fund, the family hopes to be able to sponsor female veterans that wish to take part in the organization’s yearly women-only trip.
“They’re walking their life story of grief,” King said. “And fishing and the outdoors can bring them joy, as it brought Sara. Sara didn’t get to have another 60 years of enjoying the outdoors — but this is what our family can do to help someone through their grief.”
