Kayce "Kay" Ludwig

1939 - 2022

Kayce "Kay" Ludwig

Kayce composed this shortly before her passing, found written on both sides of a piece of paper in her recognizable artistically flowing script: "Ever just sit 'n think about all the things God has done for you 'just today'? OUR GOD'S AWESOME". To my family and friends: "Tell someone you love them today because tomorrow is not promised (I Love You)". To my sons and daughters: "Never forget that I love you. Life is filled with hard times and good times. Be Brave, Be Bold and Be Beautiful. Just do your best. Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to Dance in the Rain. Enjoy the ride and never forget your way back home! - Love ya Mom"

Kayce Ludwig, 82, went home to our heavenly Father, surrounded by her family and with her "forever and a day" husband, Doug, at her side. She is survived by her adoring husband, Douglas Ludwig; her children, Ronald Penn, Jr, Kathleen (Steven) Daley, Kandy (William) Samples, Terry (Carol) Penn, Kevin (Amy) Ludwig, Jennifer (Daniel) Dunham, Susan (Lewis) Hoar, Michelle (Robert) Gray; 20 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren; her sisters, Joyce (Clarence) Keller, Sheri (Art) Doutt; her brother, Tom (Sue) Whitacre. Kayce was preceded in death by her parents, Clark and Fern Whitacre; and her older brother, Robert "Bob" Whitacre.

Born Marlene Kaye Whitacre in 1939 to Clark and Fern, being the oldest daughter of five children, she learned early on about the secret powers of food. Family lore is that she would use fudge to bribe her siblings to do the chores so she could read books. Kayce left home at 16 to marry her high school sweetheart, Ron Penn and start her own family. She had a zest for life and was fun, wild, and restless. As a young woman, she enjoyed pushing the envelope from racing her father's stock cars, to wearing red lipstick, miniskirts, and Gogo boots while twisting the night away with pals at the old Melody Inn. She was a self-described "Tom-boy" as a young girl and a lifelong daredevil, enjoying zip lining, bungee jumping and paddle boarding into her 80's, proving that you never truly grow up. A self-taught artist, painter, and crafter, she was known for gifting her hand-crafted creations to friends and family. She was commissioned to help create murals in Ohio and Michigan. Her young children enjoyed playing within their home's 6 ft privacy fence that bore her hand painted life size cartoon characters. She nurtured their creativity by letting them paint whimsical holiday designs on their windows and she taught them how to cook to feed themselves and others, always making extra whenever possible because there was always room for one more at her table.

She forged many friendships within the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF), a family centered organization, enjoying competitive card games filled with howling laughter, potluck dinners, and bowling leagues. Kayce once rolled a 299 with her signature hook amidst crowds of cheering people.

Life is not easy. Kayce suffered with bouts of severe depression. She was a perfectly imperfect person and with the help of a loving family, strong friendships, and great courage she fought to find her way. Being an artist didn't pay the bills so landing a secure job as one of the first female painters at Jeep in Toledo gave her not only pride and purpose but also paved the way for other women. Later she switched jobs to be a welder at Jeep, having such a physical job made her strong, so it was best not to mess with Mom! Her final position before retiring was operating a forklift.

While Working at Jeep, through sharing her delicious home-cooked food at lunchtime and over many heartfelt conversations, she met her soulmate and the love of her life, Doug. Together for more than 41 years they built a life together blending families not with ease but with love and food. She and Doug thoroughly enjoyed sharing their relaxing place at the lake with friends and family through boating, fishing, and birding. At their home in Florida, together they created a lush botanical garden as if painted with her artistic eye and – let's face it – a lot of Doug's muscle. There isn't anything she couldn't grow and there isn't anything Doug wouldn't do for her. They made many friends over the years within the Foresters and later at Bay Life Church through the "lovely ladies 60+ group" that greatly enriched their lives and encouraged their purpose.

One of Kayce's mottos was "Life is short, EAT DESSERT FIRST". She shared her love through feeding people just like her mother and grandmothers did. A few of her notable specialties: her signature beef stroganoff and homemade noodles, her tacos with all the fixings, and her secret recipe racing dip - for what else - racing weekends, and Sunday silver dollar pancakes. Easter was her favorite family Holiday gathering, spent praising the Lord, celebrating spring, Easter egg hunts and of course feasting. Kayce's enthusiasm for life was infectious, her courage and strength of her faith in God grew with the challenges brought from her many hard-fought battles with cancer, always encouraging others with love.

We would like to thank the family members and friends that gave their time and effort providing meals, prayer chains, vigils at hospitals, rides to appointments, rides to and from airports, hand holding, warm hugs and the gentle wiping away of our tears. Your amazing outpouring of love did not go unnoticed, you are appreciated more than you could know.

Special thanks to her best friends, Sharon Luzius, who loved her through the messiness of living a real life raising a young family, and as they grew older together with their comfortable ease gained by sharing each other's lives over the last 60 years. Also, Donna Hansel, who provided a soft place to land and a strong understanding hand to hold while sharing joyful enthusiasm and their love for God. Her late in life adopted daughter Kelley Respass (she's responsible for Kayce's fun purple hair). Without a doubt she loved you all dearly. Remember her hugs.

One apology, if you ever played games against her, we never won either, sorry…

If you feel compelled to donate in her name, her favorite charities are the Susan G. Komen foundation and the Audubon society. Or you can simply honor her by sitting with a friend or someone in need, being intentional and planting vividly colored seeds of love to grow an everlasting garden of kindness.