Mary Ellen (Golden) Ludwig

Mary Ellen Ludwig of Clifton passed from this life following an extended illness Saturday evening, May 25, 2024, surrounded by family at Goodall Witcher Nursing Facility.  Services are at Immanuel Lutheran Church Clifton at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, 2024, with interment at Clifton’s Trinity Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at Clifton Funeral Home.

The first of five children born to O. L. (Dick) and Ruby (Wiede) Golden, Mary Ellen Golden was baptized on September 3, 1939, and confirmed in her faith on April 26, 1953, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clifton.  Like many girls raised on a farm, Mary Ellen was responsible for helping her mother maintain the household beginning at an early age.

While In high school, she began dating a Harmony Valley neighbor, Fred Ludwig, and soon after her graduation from Clifton High School, they married on June 8, 1957.  Fred had already begun industrial work in Fort Worth and their married life began in an apartment in White Settlement.  It wasn’t long before they realized Bosque County was where they wanted to live and raise a family, so they moved back to what may have seemed an uncertain future at the time.  But the enterprising young couple found work and began building a good life together.

While Fred worked primarily in agriculture, Mary Ellen served in a variety of office and retail settings that included Smith Jewelry, Bertelson’s clothing, the Clifton Record, and Gearench before ultimately settling into the accounting office of First National Bank in Valley Mills. She remained employed there for 21 years before retiring in November 2003.  For nearly 40 years of their 44-year marriage, they lived in the Harmony Valley community northwest of Clifton where they raised their daughters, Deborah Ann and Linda Sue.  In the late 1990s, they move into their new home in the Whispering Ridge addition outside Clifton.

Mary Ellen thrived on loving and being loved by family and friends. Always active in church, she served in a variety of capacities at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Norse for many years, and later in life when she returned to her childhood church home, Immanuel Lutheran.  A great cook and avid reader, she especially enjoyed her bridge groups. When her health required relocating to the Goodall Witcher Nursing Facility, she was fond of working on puzzles and regularly winning in Bingo.

Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Fred A. Ludwig (2002); her parents, Dick (1981) and Ruby Golden (2009); and an infant brother Donald Richard who died within hours of his birth in 1948.

She is survived by her daughters, Debbie Rollins (husband John) of Clifton and Linda Lippe (husband Gaylon) of Huntsville; two brothers, David (wife Kathleen) of Madisonville and Jerry (wife Sharman) of Clifton; a sister, Nancy Turley (husband Dave) of Rockwall; four grandchildren, Chandra Garvin (husband Justin) of Meridian, Kandis Lippe of Houston, Garrick Payne of Clifton, and Weston Lippe (wife Devin) of Huntsville; six great-grandsons, Camron, Jordon, Wesley and Spencer Sheffer of Meridian, and Liam and Jace Lippe of Huntsville; and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.

The family is indebted to the staff of Goodall Witcher Nursing Facility and Hospice Sunset for their attentive and loving care provided throughout Mary Ellen’s illness.

Pallbearers are Weston Lippe, Garrick Payne, Camron Sheffer, Jordon Sheffer, Jeff Golden, Josh Golden, Randy Golden and Brent Golden (honorary). Arrangements have been entrusted to Clifton Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church Clifton or the Goodall Witcher Nursing Facility.