Wesley Dale Ludemann

Wes Ludemann of Livermore died Jan. 6. He was 87.

Ludemann was born in Iowa in 1926, but he grew up in a lot of places as his family moved around. At 20, he came to the San Francisco Bay Area and lived his last 50 years in Livermore.

Ludemann earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and began graduate study, but he lost his student deferment by dropping out shortly before he became too old for the draft. The army drafted him for the Korean War and assigned him to the Finance Corps. in Japan because of his math skills. Later, he received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and then he pursued master's and doctorate's degrees in metallurgy, all from the University of California, Berkeley. This preparation allowed him to earn a living as a metallurgist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He retired in 1986.

Ludemann enjoyed sailing on the Bay, often helping friends with boat maintenance and skin diving along the coast. While he gave up these activities after moving inland to Livermore, he liked backpacking in the Sierras and skiing. After retirement, he went on high-altitude treks in the Himalayas (three times) and in Ecuador, and he climbed Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. He often was out on local hikes, going up if possible.

Ludemann also enjoyed folk dancing so much he began teaching it. It was folk dance that brought his partner, Carolyn, into his life. They started the Livermore Scottish country dance class and earned teaching certificates from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Scandinavian dance was another special interest, which led to several trips to Sweden and Finland and a short stint teaching a Scandinavian dance class locally. He learned to play the five-string kantele (a Finnish zither), built several kanteles and performed with a local group. He took up the fiddle at the age of 58 in order to play Swedish folk music, learning from teachers both in Sweden and in the U.S., and for several years he played with groups in the Bay Area for dances.

Ludemann is predeceased by his sister, Carolyn, and three ex-wives, Connie, Kate and Mary Ellen.

He is survived by his partner of 38 years, Carolyn; daughter, Heidi; grandsons, Erik and Matthew; brother-in-law, Jim; two nieces ,Lynne and Elaine and their children; several cousins and their descendants.

Ludemann donated his body to medical education. A gathering for family and friends will be held later.