Grandpa Ludlow passed away on February 14th. He had a stroke the previous week which left him in poor health. He died with all eight of his living children by his bedside. At his funeral, or as he wanted it called, his memorial service, 41 of his 42 grandchildren were present. (The one missing is serving a mission.) I don't think this has ever happened. The memorial service was beautiful. The speakers did such a great job highlighting both his professional and personal accomplishments. My aunt Michelle Ludlow Judd gave the life sketch and my aunt Diane Ludlow Asay gave the family tribute. Grandpa was then honored by a member of the seventy who read a letter that President Monson had personally presented to my Grandma Ludlow the night before at the viewing. A portion of the letter stated, "We appreciate Brother Ludlow's dedicated service in the Church in many capacities. We gratefully acknowledge his labors and contributions as director of the Church's Correlation Department for many years and recognize his understanding of Church doctrines, practices, and policies. In addition, Brother Ludlow served wonderfully on the Scriptures Publication Committee and as Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, and as the founder and first director of the BYU Semester Abroad program in Israel." This was a beautiful tribute to his professional accomplishments.
What I will miss about Grandpa is his sense of humor and his immense knowledge of the gospel. Grandpa always had a fun story to tell. I remember as a young child having slug races in their backyard, making ostrich eggs (after they served as Mission Presidents in Australia, these are marshmallows dipped in caramel and then rolled in rice krispies), and spending weekends and summers at their cabin in Midway. Grandpa loved games. He usually changed the rules to make it them even more interesting. He loved spending time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. While I was at BYU, I loved that I could stop by their house at any time. I was always welcome, as were my friends. Grandma usually prepared something for us to eat while Grandpa shared his knowledge of the scriptures or shared stories from their latest travels. Even though I will miss him, I am grateful for the life he led and the time I've been able to spend with him. I love you Grandpa!
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