KEARNEY — Jim Fudge was a driving force behind many of Kearney’s Habitat for Humanity homes, but it wasn’t just his technical expertise that people respected.

“Jim, first of all, has a huge heart. He was always very caring of the people, whether they be volunteers or homeowners or whoever they might be, and of course, had a great knowledge of the building process,” said Cory Christians, who got to know Fudge though Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity, first as a volunteer and more recently as board president.

Fudge had worked with Kearney’s Habitat chapter on all the houses it had built for low-income families since its inception in 1991 until he died of cancer March 22.

For that work, Fudge was named this year’s Freedom Award winner in the Humanitarian category.

Past Freedom Award winners Mervyn Schliefert, Jim McKenzie, Jerry Marlatt and Charles Pickens nominated Fudge for the award before his illness.

In the nomination letter, they wrote, “Jim is a tireless, full-time volunteer for our Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity.”

In the letter, they also noted that during the winter, when the Kearney affiliate wasn’t building, Fudge would volunteer at other affiliates that weren’t restricted by weather in such places as Texas and Florida.

Fudge had participated in most of the Jimmy Carter International Blitz Builds and helped construct thousands of homes in many states and countries.

According to a May 2005 Kearney Hub story, Fudge had chaired the Building Committee in Kearney since 1995, ordering and coordinating the delivery of supplies. He retired in 2004 from Baldwin Filters to spend more time volunteering.

In the 2005 article, Fudge told the Hub he joined Habitat to give something back and be more involved in the community. “It’s been a passion, I guess, to work with them to grow the Habitat family in Kearney by trying to involve more people in it and have the people who show up at the job site, have it be meaningful to them and want to come back.”

Seeing the looks on children’s faces when the houses were dedicated was payment enough for him, he said.

Christians said Fudge covered both the technical side and the human side of building Habitat houses.

“Jim is just a salt-of-the-earth person and well-deserving of the award and recognition. Of course, he wouldn’t put that as a very high priority himself,” Christians said before Fudge’s death.

Building the homes was a passion for Fudge, especially after he retired, Christians said, and Fudge’s death will leave a big hole.

“I’m sure that there will be others that step up and become blessings out of Jim’s loss. There will be blessings along the way.”

Marilyn Robinson worked in the food shack at Habitat building sites last summer and will be a Habitat homeowner this year. She said “Brother” Fudge was “quite a comedian,” despite his usual stoic appearance.

“He had a great, hearty laugh. He made you laugh when he laughed.”

She fondly referred to Fudge as “Cookie Monster” because of his love for cookies.

The Habitat group is a strong community of people, Robinson said, and it was awe-inspiring to see a man who already had finished a career putting in as much time and effort to volunteer as Fudge did.

Not hearing his voice at the building site for their home will be tough, she said. “We were so looking forward … to seeing him participating in the building of our home.”

She and her daughter will miss him. “We’re just so much stronger, and we count it a privilege to have spent the time that we did with him.”

e-mail to:
vicki.rice@kearneyhub.com