Obituary for John Ernest "Jack " Ludlow
John E. (Jack) Ludlow died suddenly on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at a Colorado Springs care center. He was 87.
Jack was born in Pueblo, CO on June 30, 1935, to parents John Ernest and Charlotte Edith (Sullivan) Ludlow. He had one sister, Cheryl Elaine Ludlow. For much of his young life, Jack was raised by his maternal grandparents Orville (Sully) and Hattie Sullivan.
Jack had blond hair, a dazzling smile, a bigger-than-life personality, and was a natural athlete. When he wasn’t charming everyone with his good looks and infectious personality, he was playing sports. All of them. Jack was so good at sports that as a teenager, he won a local youth athletic competition which earned him a trip to New York City. He travelled alone, by train, from Pueblo to NYC where he met, and was photographed with, legendary Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
Jack attended Pueblo Central High School and excelled in the classroom and on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. He was president of his senior class. His favorite food back then was chicken fried steak, his favorite song was “I’ll Walk Alone,” (First made famous by Dinah Shore) and, inexplicably, he was a stamp collector. He graduated from Central in 1953 and got his post-secondary education at Colorado College in Colorado Springs where he majored in zoology and physical education and played on the college sports teams. Years later, Jack received a master's degree in teaching from Adams State College in Alamosa.
Jack married his high school sweetheart Betty Chanak on August 24, 1957. They had three children; Kurt, Kristen, and Lisa. Jack and Betty divorced in 1981.
Jack began teaching school in Canon City right out of college. But within a few years the family moved back to Pueblo where over the next decade he taught every grade except kindergarten. Eventually he became a respected teacher at his alma mater, Central High. There, he also made a name for himself by coaching football, baseball, and wrestling. He was so good at motivating and mentoring his athletes, that between 1969 and 1971, Jack led the Wildcats wrestling teams to a record of 21 wins and zero losses, for which he received a commendation from the school.
In late 1971, Jack left the public school system to become the Director of Education for the Colorado Department of Corrections. In that capacity he oversaw the state’s programs for educating inmates and offering rehabilitation services. One of his proudest moments was creating a first-ever traveling baseball team that allowed inmates to leave the Canon City prison on a team bus and drive to various cities across Colorado to play games. The inmates respected Jack because they viewed him as someone who was trying to help them and that may be why no one ever tried to escape while on a game trip. He was always proud of that. However, as a prison employee it was also Jack’s duty to help search for escaped inmates. He went on several late-night searches (while having to carry a gun) with his colleagues but was never successful in tracking down a missing convict. Still, that led to many wonderful tales that he loved to share. Jack retired from the Department of Corrections in 1995.
Long after he left the school system, Jack remained involved in school athletics. He was a high school football referee and spent countless hours on the road in southern Colorado with friends like Danny Gonzalez, Ralph Kunselman, Dick Ziegler, Rick Percy, Jim Verlengia, and others. Among the stories; the time they had to have a police escort out of town following a game because the crowd was so angry over some of their calls. Their brotherhood lasted for decades.
Jack was an avid golfer and long-time member of the Shadow Hills Country Club in Canon City. He spent many days golfing and sharing beers and playing cards with his buddies. After retirement from the prison system, he focused on his love of golf, taking a “starter” and “marshal” job at the world-famous Broadmoor Resort. There he met the famous and infamous as he rode around the courses keeping the players on time and picking up their lost balls. He knew exactly where most lost golf balls could be found. He would ride around in his cart each day and locate and retrieve every lost ball he could find. One time he collected so many, he mailed a giant box containing dozens of golf balls to his son Kurt as a joke.
In 1988, Jack found a home in Manitou Springs on a hill overlooking the city of Colorado Springs with a million-dollar view and he immediately fell in love with it. He turned the “mountain cabin” as he described it at the time into a thing of beauty. He had a keen eye for wonderful art, Asian artifacts, and architecture. And he filled his house with all the above. It became a showplace and a retreat, where he would often host family and friends and neighbors on the deck, sharing drinks and telling stories and laughing until all hours of the morning.
In 1997, Jack's friends Don and Ruth Stimack suggested Jack join them to play golf with their mutual friend Margie Meade. That golf outing led to a phone call a few days later from Jack to Margie and an invitation to dinner. They hit it off so well that Jack called her every night for the next few weeks, even when she was out of town. They golfed, and golfed, and golfed some more. In 1999, after both had sworn that neither would marry again, Jack married Margie. They joined the famed Kissing Camels Golf Course at the Garden of the Gods resort where they constantly played golf and met new friends from around the world.
They also travelled the country together, usually driving, and always planning stops wherever they were going so they could play golf along the way. Their favorite courses were in Carmel, CA, Molokai, HI, and the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. Eventually, when Jack couldn’t play golf anymore, he would drive the cart for Margie while she played so they could be together and continue to share in their love of the game. And when Margie couldn’t play anymore, they would spend their weekends glued to the Golf Channel, and occasionally napping.
Jack was predeceased by his parents and his sister Cheryl Chapparo. He is survived by Margie, his beloved wife of 22 years, who described Jack as “one of the best men I've ever known,” and her extended family, son Kurt (Laura) Ludlow, from Columbus, OH, and Kurt’s daughters Miranda (Ethan) Baumbach from Fullerton, CA, and Abigail (Nick) Wagner from Upland, CA, as well as daughter Kristen Ludlow (Brian Davis) and their children William and Kamryn, all from Gypsum, CO, and daughter Lisa Ludlow from Denver. He is also survived by his beloved brother-in-law Billie Chapparo from Mesa, AZ and several cousins.
Jack was a character, who loved everybody and was loved by everybody. Kind and considerate, personable and funny, you could always count on Jack to tell a good story and make you laugh. In that light, and instead of a traditional memorial service, he asked that we hold an Irish wake in his memory. The date, time, and location will be announced in the weeks to come. The family asks everyone to stay in touch for those details. In the meantime, we want you to remember Jack fondly. Please think of his smile, and sense of humor, and jot down a favorite story. We'd love you to share it with everyone else at his wake.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests tax-deductible donations to:
Pueblo Central High School Foundation
Coach Jack Ludlow Memorial Athletic Fund
P.O. Box 3707
Pueblo CO 81005-3707
https://www.centralhsfoundation.org/donate/donate-now
Jack was born in Pueblo, CO on June 30, 1935, to parents John Ernest and Charlotte Edith (Sullivan) Ludlow. He had one sister, Cheryl Elaine Ludlow. For much of his young life, Jack was raised by his maternal grandparents Orville (Sully) and Hattie Sullivan.
Jack had blond hair, a dazzling smile, a bigger-than-life personality, and was a natural athlete. When he wasn’t charming everyone with his good looks and infectious personality, he was playing sports. All of them. Jack was so good at sports that as a teenager, he won a local youth athletic competition which earned him a trip to New York City. He travelled alone, by train, from Pueblo to NYC where he met, and was photographed with, legendary Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
Jack attended Pueblo Central High School and excelled in the classroom and on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. He was president of his senior class. His favorite food back then was chicken fried steak, his favorite song was “I’ll Walk Alone,” (First made famous by Dinah Shore) and, inexplicably, he was a stamp collector. He graduated from Central in 1953 and got his post-secondary education at Colorado College in Colorado Springs where he majored in zoology and physical education and played on the college sports teams. Years later, Jack received a master's degree in teaching from Adams State College in Alamosa.
Jack married his high school sweetheart Betty Chanak on August 24, 1957. They had three children; Kurt, Kristen, and Lisa. Jack and Betty divorced in 1981.
Jack began teaching school in Canon City right out of college. But within a few years the family moved back to Pueblo where over the next decade he taught every grade except kindergarten. Eventually he became a respected teacher at his alma mater, Central High. There, he also made a name for himself by coaching football, baseball, and wrestling. He was so good at motivating and mentoring his athletes, that between 1969 and 1971, Jack led the Wildcats wrestling teams to a record of 21 wins and zero losses, for which he received a commendation from the school.
In late 1971, Jack left the public school system to become the Director of Education for the Colorado Department of Corrections. In that capacity he oversaw the state’s programs for educating inmates and offering rehabilitation services. One of his proudest moments was creating a first-ever traveling baseball team that allowed inmates to leave the Canon City prison on a team bus and drive to various cities across Colorado to play games. The inmates respected Jack because they viewed him as someone who was trying to help them and that may be why no one ever tried to escape while on a game trip. He was always proud of that. However, as a prison employee it was also Jack’s duty to help search for escaped inmates. He went on several late-night searches (while having to carry a gun) with his colleagues but was never successful in tracking down a missing convict. Still, that led to many wonderful tales that he loved to share. Jack retired from the Department of Corrections in 1995.
Long after he left the school system, Jack remained involved in school athletics. He was a high school football referee and spent countless hours on the road in southern Colorado with friends like Danny Gonzalez, Ralph Kunselman, Dick Ziegler, Rick Percy, Jim Verlengia, and others. Among the stories; the time they had to have a police escort out of town following a game because the crowd was so angry over some of their calls. Their brotherhood lasted for decades.
Jack was an avid golfer and long-time member of the Shadow Hills Country Club in Canon City. He spent many days golfing and sharing beers and playing cards with his buddies. After retirement from the prison system, he focused on his love of golf, taking a “starter” and “marshal” job at the world-famous Broadmoor Resort. There he met the famous and infamous as he rode around the courses keeping the players on time and picking up their lost balls. He knew exactly where most lost golf balls could be found. He would ride around in his cart each day and locate and retrieve every lost ball he could find. One time he collected so many, he mailed a giant box containing dozens of golf balls to his son Kurt as a joke.
In 1988, Jack found a home in Manitou Springs on a hill overlooking the city of Colorado Springs with a million-dollar view and he immediately fell in love with it. He turned the “mountain cabin” as he described it at the time into a thing of beauty. He had a keen eye for wonderful art, Asian artifacts, and architecture. And he filled his house with all the above. It became a showplace and a retreat, where he would often host family and friends and neighbors on the deck, sharing drinks and telling stories and laughing until all hours of the morning.
In 1997, Jack's friends Don and Ruth Stimack suggested Jack join them to play golf with their mutual friend Margie Meade. That golf outing led to a phone call a few days later from Jack to Margie and an invitation to dinner. They hit it off so well that Jack called her every night for the next few weeks, even when she was out of town. They golfed, and golfed, and golfed some more. In 1999, after both had sworn that neither would marry again, Jack married Margie. They joined the famed Kissing Camels Golf Course at the Garden of the Gods resort where they constantly played golf and met new friends from around the world.
They also travelled the country together, usually driving, and always planning stops wherever they were going so they could play golf along the way. Their favorite courses were in Carmel, CA, Molokai, HI, and the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. Eventually, when Jack couldn’t play golf anymore, he would drive the cart for Margie while she played so they could be together and continue to share in their love of the game. And when Margie couldn’t play anymore, they would spend their weekends glued to the Golf Channel, and occasionally napping.
Jack was predeceased by his parents and his sister Cheryl Chapparo. He is survived by Margie, his beloved wife of 22 years, who described Jack as “one of the best men I've ever known,” and her extended family, son Kurt (Laura) Ludlow, from Columbus, OH, and Kurt’s daughters Miranda (Ethan) Baumbach from Fullerton, CA, and Abigail (Nick) Wagner from Upland, CA, as well as daughter Kristen Ludlow (Brian Davis) and their children William and Kamryn, all from Gypsum, CO, and daughter Lisa Ludlow from Denver. He is also survived by his beloved brother-in-law Billie Chapparo from Mesa, AZ and several cousins.
Jack was a character, who loved everybody and was loved by everybody. Kind and considerate, personable and funny, you could always count on Jack to tell a good story and make you laugh. In that light, and instead of a traditional memorial service, he asked that we hold an Irish wake in his memory. The date, time, and location will be announced in the weeks to come. The family asks everyone to stay in touch for those details. In the meantime, we want you to remember Jack fondly. Please think of his smile, and sense of humor, and jot down a favorite story. We'd love you to share it with everyone else at his wake.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests tax-deductible donations to:
Pueblo Central High School Foundation
Coach Jack Ludlow Memorial Athletic Fund
P.O. Box 3707
Pueblo CO 81005-3707
https://www.centralhsfoundation.org/donate/donate-now