Florence E. (Powell) Hudspeth, age 88 was married 67 years to William Hudspeth - they were introduced by a mutual friend and were married five months later.  Florence was the devoted mother of William Hudspeth (Brenda) of Kailua, HI; Anne Simons (Lane) of Atlanta, GA; Patryce Hudspeth of Spencer, MA; Amy Hudspeth (Donald Cabell) of Norwell; Pamela Shorter (James) of  El Sobrante, CA; and Jillian Hudspeth (Daniel Blackburn) of Burlington, NJ.  She was the adored grandmother of TJ Hudspeth, Bianca Gamble, Taisha Au, Chaz Au, James Shorter, Anthony Shorter, Grant Cabell, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Hinmatonyalatkit Hudspeth Blackburn, William Hudspeth Blackburn, Brianna Cabell, Luke Cabell, Diana Cabell and three great-grandchildren, Jade Au, Josiah Au, and Daniel Martinez.

Florence attended Virginia State College and received a B.S. degree in Management from Boston State College, and a Master of  Education degree in Instructional Design from UMASS Boston.  Florence was a photographer's model with the Copley 7 Modeling Agency.  She loved to swim and was a lifelong summer resident of Hyannis, MA where she worked as a Hy-Line Cruise Guide. Florence loved to sew, traveled extensively, and enjoyed skating and cross-country skiing.   For five years she read to the blind at WATD in Marshfield.  She loved music and enjoyed singing and dancing, with the Electric Slide and any song by Luther Vandross among her favorites. Florence wrote, researched and lectured extensively on the African American sea captain  Absalom Boston. She was a proud member of the Hyannis Chapter of the  NAACP, the Boston Jazz Society, the South Shore Citizens Club, Jack & Jill of America, Inc., and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and particularly enjoyed stepping with her sorors.

Florence was an active Norwell resident for 55 years through her membership at St. Helen Church and participation in St. Helen's Sodality, legislative chairwoman of the League of Women Voters, the Library Study Committee, the Norwell Democratic Town Committee, and as a Girl Scout leader and Boy Scout den mother. She was a delegate to many Massachusetts Democratic Conventions and along with her husband William, was named  CO-OP 8 Outstanding Democrats of the Year in 1999.

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 at 10:30 am in St. Helen Church, 383 Washington St. (Rt. 53), Norwell, MA.  Following internment at Washington Street Cemetary, the repast will be held at Joe's American Bar & Grill, 2087 Washington Street, Hanover, MA.

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