Obituary of Mabel P. Ludwig

Jamestown lost one of its cheeriest citizens on February 7, when Mabel Pettit Ludwig passed away after a brief illness. She died peacefully under the loving care of Dr. John Lamancuso and the phenomenally sensitive WCA hospital nurses and staff, and among family members at the age of 96. From the time she came to Jamestown in the early 1940's, Mabel was loved by those who came in contact with her, even for brief encounters, for her infectious smile, laugh and buoyant personality. "Everybody loves Mabel" became an often repeated phrase. She will be very greatly missed by her many friends and family. Mabel lived a rich and fulfilled life to the end, no doubt because of her perennial optimism and uplifting spirit. She was born and raised in Clayton, NY in the Thousand Islands. Her parents, William Pettit and Aletha Turcotte, were born, raised and married on Grindstone Island. They moved to nearby Clayton before the First World War to raise five children. Mabel, the 4th, was born on January 21, 1919. Life on the St. Lawrence River was exciting, romantic and dramatic. These were the glory days of the Thousand Islands, when many of the wealthiest East Coast families summer there and maintained elaborate vacation homes. William "Cap" Pettit captained the Standard Oil Company's steamboat livery for 40 years, delivering oil to the wealthy vacationers and ferrying the company's executives to and from their elite homes among the islands. He came to be greatly respected and so knowledgeable about navigating the shoals throughout the islands that he was consulted by fishermen and other ferryboat operators about water depths long after he retired. Her grandfather, Joseph Turqotte, quarried granite stone, some of which was used to build the Museum of Natural History in New York City. In the summer Mabel's grandfather grew vegetables and fruits, which he delivered to island residents by boat. As a small girl, Mabel remembered often accompanying her father and grandfather on their boat trips. Mabel went on to excel in school sports and to work summers at the area's summer hotels, where she charmed guests and became one of the favorite employees. In 1938, Mabel enrolled in the State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton) from which she received a degree as a dietician. During those years she met Chuck Ludwig from Falconer, NY. He was getting a degree in mechanical engineering at nearby Clarkson. They fell in love, and when Chuck graduated in 1940, he asked Mabel to marry him and follow him to Niagara Falls, where he had been hired as an engineer for war-related work at Bell Aircraft. Again, life was exciting. Mabel remembered entertaining Russian military visitors who were guests of the government. Life at home during the war could also be dangerous. They lost many of their closest test-pilot friends. After the war, Chuck and Mabel came back to the Jamestown area and took over his father Leo's construction company, L.H. Ludwig & Co. The Jamestown area was to be their home for the rest of their lives, the place where they would raise two sons, Chuck (Leo) and Bob. The post-war years in Jamestown were a time of economic boom and expansion. With the return of veterans, the town enjoyed a boom in construction and population growth. Chuck and Mabel became active members of the Optimist Club. Mabel remembered with great fondness that time of their lives, putting on plays and fund-raisers and generally having a lot of fun. Fun and laughter, as anyone who knew her will attest, were never very far from Mabel Ludwig. Mabel was a stay-at home mom, and life during her two boy's school years in 1950's and 60's Jamestown was filled with school and extra-curricular activities, and generally keeping the boys out of trouble. Like many of their friends, they had a cottage on Chautauqua Lake. Theirs was at Long Point in Warners Bay, where summers were spent boating and fishing. During these years Jamestown witnessed the height of fame for television stars Tommy Rettig and Lucille Ball. Lucy inspired many women of her generation, including Mabel. One day, her boys were surprised when their mother came home with her hair dyed "Lucy Red". The color lasted only until the next trip to the beauty parlor, but the episode left a big enough affect on the family that she was affectionately dubbed thereafter by her boys and their friends in school, "Flamin' Mabel". The name seemed to capture Mabel's fiery Irish spirit and it was memorialized on the transom of the family's black Lightning sailboat, whose bottom was emphatically painted red. When the boat heeled, the other sailors hooted and hollered her name. About 1958, she and Chuck Sr came to know Karl Fahrner, a flamboyant German immigrant who was helping to pioneer skiing in the area. He was a founding member of the Ellicottville, NY Ski Area. Karl had been a member on the 1932 German Olympic ski team and was living in Cuba, NY. Social life with Karl Farhner turned out to be very exciting. Chuck and Mabel and their two boys became an integral part of Karl's exciting social life, which included parties with scientist Werner Von Braun and prominent gas and oil families in the Olean area. On one trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, Karl introduced Mabel to his friend writer Ernest Hemingway and later she established a lifelong friendship with television celebrity Betty Zimmer. Mabel became an active part of both her boys business activities. She helped develop and run son Bob's Good Morning Farm country store and restaurant. When Chuck (Leo) opened the Ludwig Auction business in 1985, Mabel opened and ran, together with family members, a food concession. Later dubbed "Mabel's Canteen", the concession became a beloved "must-stop" for auction-goers right up until Mabel's last day on the job when the auction barn closed its doors last summer. She is predeceased by her husband (1940) Charles Edward Ludwig (1978), two brothers, Alden (1939) and William J. Pettit (2004) and two sisters, Natalie Gullege (1988) and Marjorie Good (2001), one niece, Pat Orzell (2011). Mabel is survived by 2 sons, Robert Jay (Martha Welch) Ludwig of Manhattan, NY and Charles Leo Ludwig (Kathy Stapleton) of Ashville: 3 Grandchildren: Ben (Rachel) Ludwig and Laura Ludwig of Ashville; Alex (Tracy) Ludwig of Honeyoye Falls, NY. 4 Great grandchildren. A sisterin-law, Mrs. William (Dorothy) Pettit of Lakewood, and her 3 daughters; Dru Cole, Debbie Swan, Wendy Pettit. Nephews and neices: Bud Good of Syracuse, NY; Phil Orzell of Rhode Island; Roger, Susan and Billy Gullege of Hawaii. 4 great nieces and nephews. Numerous close friends, especially Mary Taylor and Ruth Stapleton. The family will receive friends from 4pm to 7pm, Wednesday February 11 at Lind Funeral Home at 805 West 3rd St, Jamestown, followed at Lind's by a funeral service on Thursday Feb 12th at 11am conducted by Father Luke Fodor of St. Luke's Church. Memorials may be made to WCA Foundation, Inc., 151 Foote Avenue, Jamestown, NY 14701. You may light a candle in remembrance of Mabel at www.lindfuneralhome.com.