Deatt Hudson was born June 20, 1931 at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, Colorado to Margaret McEwan Hudson and George Fletcher Hudson. She spent most of her childhood in Dolores, Colorado where she found the people “good-hearted and friendly” as well as eccentric and charming (Autobiography for Mr. Johnson’s English class, 1948). It was during these years that she became a passionate people-watcher, as she observed the mannerisms and personality quirks of ordinary friends and neighbors. Her parents had high expectations for their daughter, and yet allowed her to make her own decisions. She believed that this helped her become self-reliant and taught her to form her own opinions. A year-long trip to Peru in 1962-1963 had a great deal of influence on both her writing and teaching styles. Deatt Hudson never married and was an only child, so at the time of her death her friends and her students were her family.

Deatt Hudson received her first literary award during her junior year of high school, when she won first place in a Western State College scholarship contest in American literature. Hudson attended Dolores High School and graduated valedictorian in 1948. She was awarded a scholarship to any of the state schools, but opted to earn her B.A. at the University of Denver where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa. She also participated in Ballroom Partners, a dance group. She received an M.A. in American Studies from Yale University in 1954 and another in English from the Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury College in 1967. Upon receiving her first M.A., she began teaching at North High School in Denver. Those who knew her all agreed that she was a born teacher, and she believed that teaching was the noblest profession. She taught with passion and imagination and was much loved by her students. After some time at North High School, she began teaching English at Colorado Women’s College. After retiring from her position, she continued to teach at Emily Griffith Opportunity School where she taught English as a Second Language. Throughout her life, Hudson wrote poetry and short stories, which were published in The New Yorker, The Nation, Prism and other periodicals.

Towards the end of her life, Deatt Hudson suffered greatly from asthma, which significantly curtailed her activities. She died of a respiratory arrest November 19, 1988 at the age of 57.