Mrs. Leona Ludwig, age 93, of Orange City, passed away on Thursday, June 11, 2009, at the Orange City Area Health System Long Term Care Facility.

Visitation will be after 4:00pm on Saturday, with the family present from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

There will be a funeral service on Tuesday, June 16, at 2:00pm at the St. Paul United Church of Christ, in Staunton, Illinois. Interment will follow at the Spangle Cemetery, near Staunton. Visitation with the family will be the hour before the service on Tuesday at the church. Arrangements are with the Williamson Funeral Home in Staunton.

Leona was born on October 19, 1915, in rural Staunton, the youngest of seven children born to Frederick and Emma (Rawie) Henke. She was raised in rural Staunton, where she was the only girl in her country school.

After eighth grade, she worked with her family on the farm and later acquired her diploma in practical nursing, serving as a “mother's helper” to women with new babies. She also cared for each of her parents in their final years and worked as a clerk in a bakery and at a munitions factory during World War II. As a result of the conditions at the factory, she experienced significant hearing loss for the rest of her life.

Leona married William T. Ludwig on June 23, 1951, in Staunton, and then became a homemaker. He died on January 26, 1991.

She found joy in quilting and visiting with family and friends. She was a member of the St. Paul United Church of Christ, where she participated wholeheartedly in their women's activities. Of particular interest to her were the quilting circle, women's guild, and the fall apple butter cooking.

In January of 1997, Mrs. Ludwig moved to Orange City, to be near her daughter and family. There she attended the First Reformed Church and after living in an apartment and the Pioneer Memorial Home for several years, she entered the Long Term Care Facility, where she had many loving caregivers.

Survivors include her two daughters, Carolyn (& Michael) Yoder, of Orange City; and Glenda (& Patrick) Markert, of Sacramento, California; two granddaughters, Rebecca Yoder (& Jonathan Wood), of Chicago, Illinois; and Sarah (Yoder) (& Scott) Skripsky, of Santa Barbara, California; nieces and nephews, Doris (& Elmer) Heigert, of Staunton; Margaret “Peg” Mansholt, of Bunker Hill, Illinois; Alfred (&Pearl) Henke, of Worden, Illinois; Roseanne (Henke) Mengelkamp; of Staunton; Maurice (&Christa) Henke, of Staunton; and Mrs. Lawrence (Frances) Ludwig, of Kirkwood, Missouri; and many friends at the St. Paul United Church of Christ.

She was preceded in death by all six of her siblings, Alvin (&Emma) Henke, Herman (& Willetta) Henke, Martin (& Catherine) Henke, Leonard (& Clara) Henke, Elmer (& Lorene) Henke, and Selma (& Gilbert) Jarden.