Obituary of Gerald A. Ludwig

Gerald “Jerry” Anthony Ludwig of Iowa City, Iowa died from natural causes on June 4, 2023.

He was born on August 7, 1946 in Buffalo, New York, son of Elmer E. Ludwig and Mary D. Chirico Ludwig. Jerry grew up helping his dad farm their acreage in Western New York. He attended schools in the Iroquois Central School District (initially Lancaster), starting with a small country schoolhouse (he said with the same teacher who taught his dad decades before), and ending with graduation from Iroquois Central High School in 1964. Jerry’s favorite classes were math, science, and choral music. He sang with the youth choir at his home church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Elma, New York.

Jerry entered SUNY at Buffalo in the fall of 1965 as a chemistry major, where he met his future wife Bonnie Roberts in some of those early chemistry classes. In August 1968, they were married in the chapel of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Buffalo, New York. Jerry graduated with a BS in chemistry in 1969, and an MS in medical technology in 1976. From February 1970 to early 1976 he was in a local Army reserve unit, and became a wonderful phlebotomist, in addition to doing lab technician work.

From his graduation in 1969 up to the time just before the couple moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa in June 1976, Jerry was employed as a research assistant at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. After moving to Iowa, Jerry earned his teaching certificate by taking classes at UNI. He began employment at UIHC in 1978 as a research assistant, and worked at several different labs before retiring in August 2016. The couple’s daughter Laura was born in 1985.

Jerry has been a member of Coralville United Methodist Church and its Celebration Choir since 1982. He was an avid reader, puzzle solver, and Hawkeye fan. He loved any kind of travel, both for work presentations and for visiting many of the national, state, and county parks throughout the lower forty-eight states.

For nearly 10 years starting in about 1990, Jerry was the leader at an Iowa City BSA Explorer Post designed to include young people with disabilities. Along with dedicated adult volunteers, he put together meeting activities, camping experiences, and even a week-long camping trip to Colorado!

Jerry is predeceased by his parents and in-laws. He leaves behind his wife, Bonnie (“Bonnett”) Ludwig and daughter Laura Elizabeth Sue Ludwig, as well as his sisters-in-law, Cynthia (Bob) Huestis and Elaine (Fred) Noyes and their families. He also leaves behind his friends and family members from Western New York, as well as dear friends in Eastern Iowa. We are broken-hearted at his passing.

He will be remembered as a kind and gentle man with a loving and forgiving heart, and a really good sense of humor.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 pm Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Coralville United Methodist Church, where visitation will be held from 12 noon until services on Monday at the church.  Private burial services will be at the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City.  In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established.