James Frank Hudec

James Frank Hudec, known to most as Jim, was born on February 13, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Alice and Joseph Hudec. Between his Junior and Senior year at Orange High School, he went on his first mission trip to Nicaragua before graduating in 1969. After high school, he participated in an AFS exchange program in Germany before attending Washington & Lee University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Math in 1973. During his time there, he met Nancy Elizabeth Kaufmann whom he married in 1974. They welcomed their first and only son, James Lynden Hudec (Jay) in 1976.

After a few early jobs in Cleveland, Jim soon joined Texas Instruments and relocated the family to Houston, Texas in 1978. To complete their home, they adopted a Bichon Frise named Papillon (Papi) in 1983.

In 1986, the Hudec’s moved to Plano, Texas though Jim spent many of those years commuting to Lewisville and McKinney for TI before finally working out of the Plano location near his home. In 1997, Jim’s department at Texas Instruments was acquired by Raytheon and he was promoted to Senior Principal Engineer w/ Honors.

In 2000, Jim left Raytheon to join Cisco as a Manager of Corporate Quality. His time there was interrupted in 2006 for a lengthy battle with skin cancer, but he was soon able to return and stayed there until his retirement in 2009. During this time, Jim and Nancy welcomed a daughter in law, Laura Hudec to the family and adopted a second Bichon Frise, Emma, in 2006.

In retirement, Jim spent a great deal of his time studying genealogy and Czech history as a member of Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International. He loved to travel and visited Hawaii numerous times, as well as England, Scottland, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, France, and Germany, and took multiple trips to the Czech Republic to meet newly found distant relatives. He also accumulated a massive Lego collection which he swears was purchased solely for the entertainment of his grandchildren James David and Austin Paul Hudec.

Jim was very active in the United Methodist church, both in Houston at Lakewood United Methodist Church and in Plano at Christ United Methodist Church where he sang in the choir for over 40 years, rang handbells, and served on various committees. Through the church, he rekindled his love for serving abroad through numerous mission trips with Andean rural health care in Bolivia.

Unfortunately, Jim was diagnosed with cancer a second time and he passed away on November 7, 2026, at the age of 75.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Joseph Hudec, as well as his sister Carolyn Reszel. He is survived by his wife Nancy; son Jay and his wife Laura; his beloved grandsons JD and Austin Hudec; and brother Joseph Hudec and his wife Linda; as well as his niece and 4 nephews.

There will be a celebration of Jim’s life at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 21, 2026, at Christ United Methodist Church, Plano, Texas.

Jim will be laid to rest at the CUMC columbarium following the service.