Bonnie Earline Hudgens

Bonnie Earline Hudgens, 86, passed away on March 5, 2026, surrounded by friends and neighbors after a brief illness. A native of Nashville, she attended MTSU on a full trumpet scholarship and performed in the Noel Ball Show, where she lip-synced songs at the Sock Hop. She worked as a district manager at Genesco, lived and worked in theater in the Northeast, and taught tennis at YWCA summer camps. She later returned to Nashville to care for her mother and ran two restaurants in Whites Creek—Smokin’ Charlie’s and Earthman’s, the latter voted among the top five hamburger spots in Nashville.

Bonnie loved gardening, cooking, tennis, and people, though she may have loved animals just a little more. She was deeply connected to the Nashville music scene in its early days, when it was still a lively gathering of hippies playing in rundown bars. She had a special affection for Whites Creek and the community she built there.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Buis David Hudgens, her father, Wesley Pearlie Hudgens, and her beloved mother and artist, Buelah Maggie Read Hudgens. Bonnie is survived by her goddaughter, Gina “Cookie” Gold, her three cats, and the many “stray people” she collected and cared for along her journey.