Obituaries - Sept. 5, 1999

Walter G. Danielson; Sweden’s Consul General in L.A.

Walter G. Danielson, 96, a Los Angeles attorney who served as Sweden’s consul general in Southern California for more than 40 years. Born in Anaconda, Montana, Danielson got his law degree from the University of Montana before moving to Los Angeles in 1929. He was named Sweden’s consul general in 1935. He also served as secretary of the Los Angeles Consular Corps for many years. Danielson’s Fremont Place residence became an “open house” for visiting dignitaries over the years, and he was known for his hospitality. Endowed scholarships have been established in his name at Pepperdine and California Lutheran universities. A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn, Glendale, at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Donations may be made to the Walter G. Danielson Endowed Scholarship Fund at Cal Lutheran or the Walter G. Danielson Endowed Scholarship at Pepperdine. On Aug. 30 in Los Angeles.

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* Mary Hudson; Founded Chain of Gas Stations, Stores

Mary Hudson, 86, whose empire of gas stations and convenience stores made her one of the few women to earn a place on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Hudson became a businesswoman out of necessity, when her husband, Wayne Driver, was killed in a truck accident in 1933 and left her as the sole provider for their 6-month-old daughter. She borrowed $200 from her father to open her first Hudson Oil Co. station in Kansas City, Mo. Over the next several decades she built more than 300 gas stations and convenience stores in 35 states that featured low prices and self-service. “We don’t cater to motorists’ whims. We just pump gas,” the Texas native once said of her no-frills approach, which included not accepting credit cards. In the mid-1970s Forbes magazine listed her as one of the 400 wealthiest Americans, estimating her worth at about $325 million. Her business experienced severe setbacks in the 1980s, including the crash of the U.S. petroleum industry and a $30-million federal court judgment against Hudson Oil for overcharging at the pumps. In 1984, the company defaulted on $20 million in credit and was forced into bankruptcy, but other Hudson businesses thrived into the 1990s, including cattle ranches, farms and a petroleum consulting firm in Russia. On Thursday of cancer at her home in Prairie Village, Kan.

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* Mark Zebrowski; Expert on Islamic Art

Mark Zebrowski, 54, a leading expert on the Islamic art of India. Born and educated in the United States, Zebrowski lived much of his adult life in Britain. He was introduced to India in 1967 when he went there as a member of the Peace Corps. While teaching English at a school in Karimnagar in south-central India, he became interested in the intricate silver work and other artwork of the area. Zebrowski went on to study at the Musee Guimet in Paris and at Harvard University. His 1983 thesis, “Deccani Painting,” became the standard work on the art of the area of India surrounding Hyderabad. Zebrowski, who moved to London in the 1970s, contributed regularly to academic journals and exhibition catalogs and wrote two books, “Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India” and (with George Mitchell) “The Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates.” On Aug. 22 in London of cancer.