Simon W. Tudor
| Simon Woodson Tudor (Educator, real estate developer, and philanthropist) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | November 5, 1887 Madison County, Kentucky, USA | ||
| Died | May 10, 1956 (aged 68) Pineville, Louisiana Resting place: | ||
| Spouse | Frances Ollie Beall Tudor (married 1913-1956, his death) Children | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist | ||
Simon Woodson Tudor (November 5, 1887– May 10, 1956) was an educator, real estate developer, and philanthropist from Pineville, Louisiana.
Background
Tudor was born in Madison County in central Kentucky. He relocated to Pineville, which is located east of the Red River from the larger city of Alexandria. He received his bachelor's degree in 1913 from Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville. While he attended Louisiana College, he was also the athletic director and the football, basketball, and baseball coach from 1910 to 1913 and again, after his graduation, from 1914 to 1917. He coached at the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College in Shreveport in 1912. He taught school in Vernon Parish in western Louisiana from 1913 to 1914. He concluded his brief educational career as a principal in Pineville public schools from 1917 to 1920.[1]
On September 21, 1913, Tudor married the former Frances Ollie Beall (1894-1992), the daughter of William Columbus Beall and the former Sarah Frances Curry. They had a son, Robert Beall Tudor, Sr. (1914-1987), and a daughter, Dorothy Louise Tudor. One of Tudor's grandsons, Michael Simon Tudor (born 1945),[1] is an attorney who has been active in the Republican Party in Rapides Parish.[1] Another grandson, Robert Beall "Buddy" Tudor, Jr., expanded the family construction business statewide after he graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Business and philanthropy
In 1920, Tudor entered the real estate business, both residential and commercial. In 1946, he founded his Tudor Construction Company and served as the company president until his death. Tudor was a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Pineville and a member of the Louisiana College trustees from 1941 until his death. He was the president of the LC trustees from 1943 to 1953. A generous benefactor to the college, Tudor was honored by the naming of the men's dormitory "Tudor Hall."[1]
Tudor thereafter donated twenty-seven acres of land to Louisiana College for several construction projects undertaken during the administration of LC president George Earl Guinn (1912-2004).[2]
Tudor is interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tudor, Simon Woodson. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Retrieved on September 8, 2020.
- ↑ Early Baptists in Louisiana: G. Earl Guinn. Baptistmessage.com (September 27, 2007). Retrieved on August 1, 2013; material no longer accessible on-line.
