Obituary of Russell Carl Ludwig

Russell Carl Ludwig was born July 5, 1915 in Alpena, MI to Frederich William Ludwig and Louise Trapp Ludwig. Raised on the family farm, his parents instilled a great work ethic and a love of gardening. They also encouraged him to pursue his education when that was uncommon in their community. His tuition to Alma College was paid with potatoes and the various jobs he was able to find on campus. He did not discover his love for chemistry until his junior year and managed to complete the requirements for a B.A. in Chemistry in his last two years. He was hired as a lab chemist by the Dow Chemical Company of Midland, MI in 1936. He received his M.A. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois while working with Dow. Russ also took the initiative to create his own business out of the basement of his house packaging and marketing the first plastic film roll for household use. He sold his product and idea, Cling Wrap, to Dow and it became known as Saran Wrap. Russ became an executive with Dow and during the course of his 37 year career he managed the Pharmaceutical Division in Indianapolis, IN and the Packaging Division in Cleveland, OH. Russ retired as U.S. Operations Services Manager in 1973. Russ married Martha Nissila and in 1940 their daughter Sylvia Lou was born. Sylvia was a very gifted violinist. She toured Europe and played with the symphonies in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA. She passed away in 1996. Her mother, Martha had passed away when Sylvia was a teenager. In 1962, Russ met and married June Arledge. When he retired in 1973 they moved to Central Point, OR with two young children, 5 year old Eric and 6 year old Lisa. That took courage! But Russ wanted more time with his family than an executive’s life would allow. In Central Point he also devoted himself to raising the most magnificent flowers and vegetables. In 1984, the family relocated to Olympia, WA where his gift and passion for growing flowers was again made evident. Russ was a lifelong Lutheran whose confirmation verse was John 3:16. He became a member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 21 years ago. His Heavenly Father welcomed him home with a loving embrace on April 23, 2005. He was 89. Russ is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, June; a daughter Lisa and husband Tim Stults of Olympia; granddaughter, Anna of Olympia; son, Eric and fiancée Elizabeth Carosso of Seattle; sisters, Irma Marquardt and Betty Krueger of Alpena, MI. He was preceded in death by brothers, Roy of Houston, TX and Earl of Augusta, GA. Russ was a man of many talents and interests: an enthusiastic gardener, a voracious reader, a challenging game player and a devotee of doing crossword puzzles in ink. He especially enjoyed history, genealogy, the Mariners and most of all his family. Russ so loved flowers and wished that you might think of him when flowers bloom. There will be a memorial service celebrating Russ’ life 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2005 at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1601 North St SE, Olympia. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Russ’ name.