Lady in hat wrote about Toledo area social scene

8/17/2004

Geraldine M. Hudick, a longtime Toledo society columnist who was well-traveled in social circles, died Sunday at The Sanctuary at Tuttle Crossing, a nursing home in Dublin, Ohio. She was 94.

Family members did not know the cause of death.

Mrs. Hudick wrote about the Toledo area social scene for more than 30 years in her column, Gerry-Meanderings, including a stint at The Blade from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. She wrote a society column for the West Toledo Herald for over 25 years.

Born Geraldine Mathias, she was a graduate of Scott High School, said daughter Suzanne Schneider.

She was very outgoing, very dynamic, and very strong willed, Mrs. Schneider said. She loved people and she was a very social person.

Mrs. Hudick attended the former Dickinson Secretarial School and won a regional competition by taking dictation on a technical matter at 100 words a minute for 15 minutes with only three errors. She studied journalism and political science at the University of Toledo, Mrs. Schneider said.

She married Thomas Lattin, founder of the National School of Meat Cutting, and became active in the Mothers Club of McKinley School, Mrs. Schneider said.

She had been involved in the League of Women Voters since joining the university branch as a student. She was among UT students who rang doorbells to win support for a bond issue that funded construction of buildings on campus. Her name was placed on a scroll in the cornerstone of University Hall.

Mrs. Hudick, sometimes known as the lady in the hat, was instantly recognized by her hats some dramatic, some subdued. Her collection was so extensive that she seemed to have one for every outfit and every occasion, her daughter said.

She was a former president of the city Commission of Publicity and Efficiency, to which she was appointed by former Toledo Mayor John Yager and reappointed by former Mayor John Potter.

Her first husband, Mr. Lattin, died Oct. 9, 1967. She remarried the following year to Frank Hudick. He died about six years ago, Mrs. Schneider said.

Mrs. Hudick retired at age 91 when she moved to Dublin. While in the nursing home, she continued to write a column for its residents until two weeks ago.

Surviving are her daughter Suzanne Schneider and four grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service at 3 p.m. Friday at Hope Lutheran Church on Secor Road.

The family suggests tributes to the Toledo Animal Shelter Auxiliary, 640 Wyman Rd., or to Hope Lutheran Church.

Arrangements were by Walker Funeral Home.