As a small child growing up in Central Park Village, Jessie B. “Jet Set” Hudson loved to venture onto Central Avenue to see people like James Brown, B. B. King, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and many others. His dream was to someday be a big entertainer and put Tampa on the map.
According to family members, Jet Set, who lived in Pasadena, California, stopped by a convenience store close to midnight on December 13th.
His sister, Shirley Coleman, said Jet Set went into the store and purchased an Alka Seltzer, a bottle of water, and some milk.
“The clerk in the store said he was sweating really bad, and was in a hurry.
“The clerk said he paid for the items with a $20, and ran out to his car before receiving his change. When the clerk ran out to his car to give him his change, he found Jessie B. slumped to one side inside his car.”
Ms. Coleman said when paramedics arrived on the scene minutes later, he was pronounced dead. Preliminary indications are Jet Set died of a heart attack.
Jet Set endeared himself to the people of Tampa, and would often return to his hometown from Hollywood to share his experience, and to reach out to those in need.
“He was always trying to help people, although he didn’t have that much himself,” said Ms. Coleman.
“He always remembered growing up in a big family and how things were scarce. That’s why he always tried to help others, and most of the time, it was people he didn’t even know.
“He was looking forward to his birthday on January 18th, and was making plans to return to Tampa for the MLK Parade. He was also concerned about the shooting at the school in Connecticut, because he has friends there.”
Jet Set made sure he witnessed historical events of Black achievements. He went to Washington, D.C. to see the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. monument, traveled to Denver, Colorado for the Democratic National Convention, and was always active in community affairs events, including the ongoing case of Trayvon Martin.
“Jessie B. had a lot of friends, and he was talking about how disappointed he was that he couldn’t come home to see the building being named in honor of Ms. Essie Mae Reed.
“I spoke to him last week, and since then, I hadn’t been able to contact him. It wasn’t like him to not return a phone call, so I knew something wasn’t right.”
Ms. Coleman said their entire family is devastated, and they will be returning Jet Set to Tampa for services.
