Florence Bernice Ludeman

Florence Bernice Ludeman was born to Ekke and Johanna Miller on December 22, 1924 on a farm nine miles east of Gurley, NE.. She had two brothers, Alvin and Verne, and four sisters, Irene, Kay, Bonita, and Clara. She was baptized and confirmed at Weyerts Immanuel Church and attended a country school less than a mile away where she helped teach other children. She attended high school in Sidney, NE where she played bass fiddle in the band and graduated in 1942. During WW II she worked at Sioux Ordnance Depot and was sent to Denver to work for IBM. While living there with her sister Kay, she sang in the choir at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in downtown Denver. Here she met and soon married Harold Ludeman on June 5, 1946. Hal and Flo moved back to Cheyenne County to farm and had three children, Jill, Richard, and Randy. Florence gave piano lessons and sold Avon for forty years in the community. She played the organ, taught, and sang for Grace Lutheran Church in Gurley. She was active in Lutheran Church Women who sewed quilts for Sullivan Hills Camp and Lutheran World Relief. She was an avid bridge player until her last few years when her eyesight failed and she could do crosswords until her last day. In 1994 she and Harold began spending their winters in Mesa, AZ and she continued to go south even after Harold died in 1996. In 2012 she broke her hip and left the farm to reside at Sloan's in Sidney until May of 2016 when she broke her hip for the second time. She was transported to Denver for her care and eventually resided at Clear Creek Care, two miles from Jill. Her health declined and she died on Nov. 22. She is survived by her brother Verne, her three children Jill (Dennis) Smits of Denver, Richard Ludeman of Colorado Springs, Randy (Marcia) Ludeman of Sundance, WY, two grandchildren Kyle and Wade (Rose) Ludeman, and four great grandchildren Arayla, Braylen, Theodore, and Otto. A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 2 @ 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers donations can be made there to the American Cancer Society.