Hudson Joseph Meek, 16, saved five lives with his organs after tragic death, his mother reveals at memorial
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Hudson Joseph Meek was honored at his Celebration of Life in Homewood, AL on Saturday morning following his tragic death, at age 16, from blunt-force trauma on December 21.
The 93-minute memorial dedicated to the Baby Driver alum was held at held at the Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and livestreamed via his Instagram account and his mother Lani Wells Meek's Facebook account.
Since Hudson passed away four days before Christmas, the church choir opened with a stirring rendition of Casting Crowns's 2008 song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
At first, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church senior pastor Dr. David Eldridge - who baptized Meek in 2008 - helped mourners wrap their head around his loss.
The Vestavia Hills High School sophomore's heartbroken parents - Lani and Derek - then shared some if their favorite memories of Hudson, including the time he amusingly joined a group of twerking dancers in New Orleans.
There was no substances nor suspected foul play involved in Hudson's death, which was the result of him falling out of a moving vehicle in the 1900 block of Canyon Road around 10:45pm on December 19 - according to TMZ.
Hudson Joseph Meek was honored at his Celebration of Life in Homewood, AL on Saturday morning following his tragic death, at age 16, from blunt-force trauma on December 21 (pictured September 9)
The 93-minute memorial dedicated to the Baby Driver alum was held at held at the Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and livestreamed via his Instagram account and his mother Lani Wells Meek's Facebook account
Meek - who was an organ donor - was rushed to the hospital, but sadly succumbed to his injuries two days later.
'Guys, he would be so proud to have known that on Christmas eve, five families learned that their loved ones would be receiving life-saving organs,' Lani informed the audience.
'So on Christmas Day, Hudson saved five lives. He'd be so, so proud of that.'
The mourning matriarch went on to describe the Rebels footballer as 'bold, spontaneous, and completely unfiltered in the greatest possible way.'
According to his Searcy Funeral Home obituary, Hudson - who's also survived by his 19-year-old brother Tucker - had visited all 50 US states and he achieved his advanced open water certification in scuba diving at age 13.
Meek's family founded the Hudson J. Meek Memorial Scholarship to be awarded to one student annually, and they've asked for donations to be made via Venmo (HudsonMeekScholarship) or Wells Fargo (Account #5908190381).
The devout Christian last portrayed the character Sirius in Todd Wiseman Jr.'s film The School Duel, which has yet to secure distribution after premiering September 6 at the Deauville American Film Festival.
Hudson's most memorable role was playing the younger version of Ansel Elgort's character Miles aka 'Baby' in Edgar Wright's critically-acclaimed action film Baby Driver, which amassed $226.9M at the global box office in 2017.
Meek's largest role was voicing Bada in 52 episodes of the animated series Badanamu Stories between 2020-2021.
The avid skiier also guest-starred in episodes of National Geographic's Genius, The CW's Legacies, NBC's Found, and CBS' MacGyver - as well as movies like Michael Polish's 2015 film 90 Minutes in Heaven and Whitney Hamilton's 2018 film Union.
Since Hudson passed away four days before Christmas, the church choir opened with a stirring rendition of Casting Crowns's 2008 song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
At first, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church senior pastor Dr. David Eldridge - who baptized Meek in 2008 - helped mourners wrap their head around his loss
The Vestavia Hills High School sophomore's heartbroken parents - Lani and Derek - then shared some if their favorite memories of Hudson, including the time he amusingly joined a group of twerking dancers in New Orleans
There was no substances nor suspected foul play involved in Hudson's death, which was the result of him falling out of a moving vehicle on December 19
Meek - who was an organ donor - was rushed to the hospital, but sadly succumbed to his injuries two days later
Lani informed the audience: 'Guys, he would be so proud to have known that on Christmas eve, five families learned that their loved ones would be receiving life-saving organs. So on Christmas Day, Hudson saved five lives. He'd be so, so proud of that'
The mourning matriarch went on to describe the Rebels footballer as 'bold, spontaneous, and completely unfiltered in the greatest possible way' (pictured in 2016)
Hudson - who's also survived by his 19-year-old brother Tucker - had visited all 50 US states and he achieved his advanced open water certification in scuba diving at age 13
Meek's family founded the Hudson J. Meek Memorial Scholarship to be awarded to one student annually, and they've asked for donations (2014 stock shot)
The Badanamu Stories star last portrayed the character Sirius in Todd Wiseman Jr.'s film The School Duel, which has yet to secure distribution after premiering September 6 at the Deauville American Film Festival
Hudson's most memorable role was playing the younger version of Ansel Elgort's character Miles aka 'Baby' in Edgar Wright's critically-acclaimed action film Baby Driver, which amassed $226.9M at the global box office in 2017
Meek also guest-starred in episodes of National Geographic's Genius, The CW's Legacies, NBC's Found (pictured September 11), and CBS' MacGyver - as well as movies like Michael Polish's 2015 film 90 Minutes in Heaven and Whitney Hamilton's 2018 film Union
