Sr. Charlene Hudon believes in living life to its fullest. The 85-year-old sister, who loves the outdoors, has white water rafted, parasailed and flown in a glider. And she has recently added a new adventure: skydiving.
On a small airfield about 30 miles north of Seattle, she and her friend – Sr. Joyce Roach, OP – boarded a plane which took them to 10,000 feet. Secured to an experience skydiver, the two left the aircraft and experienced about 30 seconds of free fall before their parachutes opened. Both landed minutes later on a grass field near the runway they had just left.
Sr. Charlene was born Ellensburg and raised in Yakima and Wapato, Washington. She joined the Sisters of Providence right out of high school and has always been an outdoors enthusiast in between her ministries of teaching and health care over the years.
She is also passionate about service to the marginalized and an outspoken voice for justice, having participated in Americas Watch and Nuns on the Bus campaigns.
Sr. Charlene continues being of service in her “ministry of availability,” being there when and where she can be of help.
The adventures, of course, will continue. Next up: zip lining and hot air ballooning.
(Read more about her ministries: 60 Years: Charlene Hudon, SP – Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province.)