Rex and Judd Dudley established a fund within the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation known as the Rex and Judd Dudley Permanent Educational Fund. The fund will provide a significant scholarship on the basis of merit and need to graduating seniors or previous graduates who have attended any high school in Wood County for at least two years and who desire to secure a post-secondary education. The fund will be invested for a period of years before the first scholarships are awarded.
Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia in 1914, Judd Dudley was the son of the late Brainard Judd and Julia Savage Dudley. In 1932, Mr. Dudley graduated from Parkersburg High School and then attended Marietta College, where he was affiliated with Delta Upsilon Fraternity.
Mr. Dudley was president of Dudley's Florist, which he took over from his father, Brainard. The business branched out to include shops in Ohio and West Virginia. He passed on the business to his two sons, John and Peyton. Mr. Dudley and his wife, the late Rex Gibbens Dudley, whom the fund honors, also had a daughter, Janet Dudley Uhlman.
Mr. Dudley actively participated in the community, frequently being asked to partake in or support local projects. He served as a President of the Parkersburg Chamber of Commerce, Director and President of the Parkersburg Junior Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the Community Chest, and he was a former Director of the Commercial Bank and Trust Company and Traders Federal Savings and Loan. He was influential in opening Parkersburg Community College, which later became a branch of West Virginia University, serving as the college's first board President. He was a significant figure in the project to begin the Wood County airport and was named Parkersburg Outstanding Young Man for 1945. An active member of the Parkersburg County Club, Mr. Dudley founded the Dudley's Raiders golf group of West Virginia and Florida.

Mr. Dudley was recognized for his witty business style and his involvement in the community. He was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Dudley were highly respected members of this community.