Mr. Estel "Gene" Ludlow

March 25, 1924 - October 27, 2017

Estel Eugene Ludlow(Gene), age 93 passed away peacefully on October 27, 2017 at Crystal River Health Care in Crystal River Fla. Gene was born on March 25, 1924 in Orestes In. to Estel & Alma Ludlow. He lived & worked in Indiana until 1966. Living in Alexandria, Wolcottville & Schneider while working for the State of Indiana. He was preceded in death by his 1st wife Mary Barbara Kane & his last wife Patricia Ludlow; his parents Estel & Alma Ludlow; brother Lorel Ludlow; sisters Muriel(Ross) Tucker; Clara(Jack) Ginder; Mary McGuire; son Dana Kim Ludlow. He is survived by his son Richard E.(Kathy) Ludlow, Susan D. Kane, Nancy L.(Von) Baum, Mary Beth Maskow, numerous grand & great grand children & many nieces and nephews. Gene graduated from Alexandria HS in 1942 & immediately joined the US Navy as WW2 was on. He was assigned to the submarine service about the USS Atule patrolling the South Pacific ocean until the end of the war. After serving his duty he worked at a local factory & attended classes for biology at Anderson College, Anderson In. From 1951 to 1955 he was appointed as a Conservation Officer in Madison Co for the State of Indiana. In 1955 he transferred to the Wildlife division as a Wildlife Biologist in Northeast In. In 1964 he was promoted to the position as Manager of the LaSalle Fish & Game area in Northwest In. He was the 1st manager as it was converted from a State Park to a wildlife hunting area. While there he got his private pilots license at the Lake Village airport. He served there until 1966 when he left Indiana to join the Federal Government, Bureau of Land Management. He was sent to Utah where he worked until 1970. In 1970 he was transferred to Alaska to be the biologist on the 1st Alaskan pipeline being built. He spent 7 years in Alaska. While there he also did bush piloting as a side job. He received several awards for the work he did to make sure the pipeline did not disturb the wildlife in their migration etc. In 1978 he was transferred to Montana where he served until 1980 when Ronald Regan was elected president. He was transferred to BLM headquarters in Washington DC where he served until 1986 when he retired from government service. He resided in Virginia for a few years then retired to Fla. Gene was a busy man in retirement. He worked with several veterans groups by giving talks & presentations to schools & other groups on life in the submarine service in WW2. He is having a military service & burial on November 9, 2017 at the Bushnell National Cemetery in Fla. In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates donations in Gene’s memory to the Salvation Army or veterans groups. He was in the American Legion & Submarine Veterans Organization.