Retired Hermitage teacher Alfred T. Dudley dies at 84

Alfred Traylor Dudley's efforts to bring history to life for Hermitage High School students kept Bruce Bowen coming back for more.

Bowen took American history from Mr. Dudley during the 1966-1967 school year. Upon finishing college, Bowen returned to Hermitage -- and to Mr. Dudley.

"When I became a teacher, he was in Room 148, and I was next door in Room 150. And we taught next door to each other for 20 years," recalled Bowen, who retired last spring as Hermitage's athletic and activities director.

"He knew American history as well as anyone I'd ever met."

Mr. Dudley, a Richmond resident whose teaching career at Hermitage spanned five decades, died Saturday. He was 84.

The son of a salesman, he spent his childhood in Richmond and North Carolina, said his daughter, Beverley James Ingle. The Tulane University alumnus and World War II Navy veteran began teaching at Hermitage during the 1950s.

He couldn't get enough of history, even beyond the schoolhouse, Ingle said. Mr. Dudley would serve as a guide for tourists, "and then later in life, he got into teaching a lot of black history," Ingle said.

Bowen has fond memories of the Wednesday field trips that Mr. Dudley led during summer school. Bowen would drive the bus as Mr. Dudley took the students on a magical history tour of the area.

Bowen soon noticed that Mr. Dudley knew as much about ongoing road construction as he did about history. He later learned that Mr. Dudley would run through the tour routes the night before.

Mr. Dudley was an engaging instructor who would unleash a rebel yell or stand on a chair or desk to punctuate a lesson, Bowen recalled.

"We taught the average-level kids. We weren't teaching the honors kids," Bowen said. "I followed some of his antics in my classroom just to keep kids interested."

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Lillian B. Dudley.

A graveside service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at Westhampton Memorial Park.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or .