Dale Rhodes Ludwick

Dale Ludwick, 94, passed away peacefully in here sleep the night of November 5th, 2023. She was born May 2nd, 1929 in Rostraver Township in Westmorland County, Pennsylvania on the Monongahela River just south of Pittsburgh. She is survived by her son Rick, his wife Laura, and daughter Grace. She is preceded in death by her parents Samuel and Myrtle, son Reed, husband Boyd, and daughter-in-law Kathie Daggett.

Dale had a turbulent childhood with a frail mother and a father, who suffered PTSD from his service in WW I, on a largely rural and isolated property in Lincoln Borough just north of her birthplace. Despite her family’s dysfunction, she had the support of her aunts and uncles that added stability to her life. She also always had the companionship of her pets which included a dog and lamb.

After dropping out of high school, due to family issues, Dale went to work for the Post Office and had a rural route. She owned a very distinctive bright yellow Model A Ford that she used to deliver mail. Apparently, the vehicle chronically overheated on the hills and had to be shifted to neutral to cool off on the downhill parts of the route. The route included some interesting stops including several pubs and one brothel. Her uncle was a tough character that frequented the pubs (not sure about the brothel). He made sure that Dale, being a young female, was not bothered by any of the pub patrons by laying down the law prior to her starting the route.

Dale met her husband, Boyd, on a blind date that was set up by a friend. Boyd was an Army Air Corp B29 pilot that was preparing deploy to the Pacific since WWII was at its peak. On their first date, they went flying with a friend of Boyd’s. They returned to the Allegheny County Airfield after sunset that evening. The pilot didn’t see a piece of heavy equipment parked on the runway and sheared the landing gears off the aircraft causing them to crash at a point down the runway. Everyone survived without serious injury, most likely because the aircraft did not burn. So that was the beginning of their relationship. Despite this harrowing beginning, they were married a couple of years later and were together until Boyd passed on October 31st, 2009.

Her first son, Reed, was born in October of 1952. Boyd had been recalled for the Korean War which lasted from 1950 to 1953. After the war, Boyd worked on the flight line at Allegheny County Airport fueling aircraft. In 1956, he went on to become a pilot for TWA and was stationed in New York. The small family lived in a little apartment in Queens. In 1957, Boyd was transferred to Kansas City. Their second son, Rick, was born in April of 1959.

Pilots didn’t make much money in those early years, but the family did a lot of traveling thanks to the availability of airline passes, a perk enjoyed by airline employees, that enabled them to fly free on a standby basis. In the later years, after Boyd was promoted to Captain, they traveled a couple of times a year and visited Europe a few times. Those were some of the best times for the family.

In the 1960’s, Dale decided to get her GED since she was unable to graduate from high school. Once she got her GED, she started attending classes at Longview Community College. Her and a friend, Mary, decided to take some classes together. Eventually, they ended up at UMKC together. Dale studied history but eventually ended up at Avila University in South KC where she graduated in 1974 with a degree in social work with a minor in history. She worked as a social worker for a time after that.

Dale always had animals as companions when she was growing up. She contributed to Wayside Waifs and the SPCA of Greater KC routinely throughout her life. Consequently, we would like donation to be made, in lieu of flowers, to either Wayside Waifs or the USPCA of greater Kansas City.