Jake Hulsey

In 1951, Jake Hulsey opened his own seed testing lab, with little idea he would celebrate 60 years of service in 2011. Seventy-five years on, Hulsey Seed Laboratory is still on Georgia's list of approved seed labs.

Jake was born on June 12, 1921, in Bayleton, Alabama, to John Seth and Marine Hulsey. He went to high school in Starkville, Mississippi, graduated from Mississippi State University, and earned a master's degree in agronomy from the University of Missouri.

In 1944, Georgia passed a law to regulate the quality of seed sold in the state, and Jake was invited to Atlanta to develop and run its "Good Seed Program." Seven years later he founded Hulsey Seed Lab. A Registered Seed Technologist, he promised one-day service on purity and TZ tests, run to AOSA, ISTA, and Canadian rules.

He belonged to the Georgia Seed Association, the Southern and Western Seedmen's Associations, and the American Seed Trade Association. The Georgia Seed Association gave him its Distinguished Service award and made him an honorary member, and the Georgia Crop Improvement Association honored him for Outstanding Service.

"…when those seed had been tested by Hulsey that they were right."Jack Dickey, Dickey Seed Company, a customer for 37 years

When Jake arrived in Atlanta in 1944, he went looking for a room at a boarding house, and Roberta Boswell opened the door. They married on November 21, 1945, and shared 68 years together. They raised three children, Patricia, Jerry, and Jan, lived in Avondale Estates and later Duluth, served in their Presbyterian churches, and spent many Sunday afternoons playing golf together.

Jake adored Roberta, Granny to the grandchildren. After every meal, Jake and Roberta went for a walk together, arm in arm, step in step. He did all the driving, and he drove a hard line, one challenged most often by his granddaughter Haley.

He started every morning with calisthenic stretches, partly because he knew it was right, and partly because his daughter, Patricia Bridges, EdD, an emeritus associate professor of physical therapy at Emory University, asked him about it.

Jake died on August 26, 2014, at 93. His son Jerry Hulsey leads the lab today.