Paul Walter Ludwig

Memorial Service for Rev. Dr. Paul Walter Ludwig, Jr. 89, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2016 at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. Burial with full military honors will be held at 3:00 p.m. in Ft. Jackson National Cemetery.

Rev. Ludwig was born in Hoxie, Kansas on February 11, 1926. He was the firstborn of twelve children to the late Rev. Paul W. Ludwig, Sr. and his wife, Thekla. He was a graduate of St. John’s Lutheran High School and College, Winfield, Kansas; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri; received his Master of Theology from Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth, Texas; and received his Doctor of Ministry from Faith Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, Tacoma, Washington.

On June 7, 1951, Pastor Ludwig and Margaret Atsinger were married in Houston, Texas. They were blessed with a daughter, Paulette on February 17, 1953 and a son, Martin on June 2, 1961. In 1959, He received a call from the Armed Services Commission to become a Chaplain in the United States Air Force. He served for 24 years before retiring. During this time, he flew with the troops and learned the joys of flying. He then learned to fly as a hobby. He earned all of the licenses required to fly a single engine plane and finally ended his flying career as an Instructional Pilot.

Pastor Ludwig served the Lord in various churches to include St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Lakeland, FL and Immanuel Lutheran Church as Vicar for 2 years; he served as Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Brenham, TX for 5 ½ years; Christ Lutheran in Ft. Worth, TX; while Chaplain, US Air Force, he served various bases states, Canada, Philippines, Greece and England. He “formally” retired in 1988 and he and Margaret moved to Columbia to be near their children and grandchildren. During this time, he served as vacancy pastor/preacher at several churches in the surrounding area including: Holy Lamb Lutheran Church, Myrtle Beach, Incarnate Word Lutheran Church, Florence, Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Columbia, Ascension Lutheran, Augusta, Ga, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Aiken and lastly, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Irmo. Pastor Ludwig and Margaret loved traveling. Some of their travels included trips to Peru, Panama, Eastern Europe, China, Thailand, and Burma.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Margaret; daughter, Paulette (Jim) Clements; son, Martin “Marty” (Marilyn) Ludwig; grandchildren, Jerusha (Joey) Keisler, Jessica Wenger, Kyle (Abigail) Ludwig, Fischer Ludwig; great-grandson, Matthew Keisler. He is also survived by sisters, Eunice Fink, Thekla Sebaugh, Elizabeth Wiening, Charlotte LePere; brothers, Richard Ludwig, Theodore Ludwig, David Ludwig and Thomas Ludwig. He was preceded in death by brothers, John Ludwig, Robert Ludwig, Philip Ludwig; nephews, Dennis Ludwig, Nathan Fink; and grandson-in-law, Eric Wenger.

Memorials may be made to Lutheran World Relief (LWR), at www.lwrgifts.org; LAMP, 3525 North 14th Street, Suite 1, Brookfield, WI 53005; or The American Bible Society, P.O. Box 96812, Washington, D.C. 20090-6812.

Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com