Sander Allen Ludeman

The funeral service for Sander A. Ludeman, 89, of Tracy, will be at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2015, at Tracy Lutheran Church in Tracy. Visitation will be Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with a Sharing of Memories at 7:00 p.m. at Almlie-Horvath Funeral Home. Visitation will continue from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the church. Interment will follow the service at the Tracy City Cemetery. Sander died on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at the Sanford Tracy Medical Center. He had been a resident at Prairie View Senior Living for only a few weeks before he passed away. Sander Allen Ludeman IV was born on September 17, 1925. He moved to the family farm north of Tracy at age six with his parents. He lived and worked there through school and marriage. Sander attended several country schools and had his older sister, Bernice, as a teacher at one time. Sander graduated from Tracy High School in 1943. He married Mary Lou Starken on November 28, 1946, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tracy. They shared 60 years of marriage and lived on the farm until 2005 when they moved to Tracy. Mary Lou passed away in 2007. He eventually took over the family farm after working beside his father and brother for a number of years and raised his family of four sons, Sandy, Paul, Brian and Cal there. He was successful enough to allow a number of his sons to later join him in operating SanMarBo Farms, a diversified crop and livestock operation. His business reputation was one of prudent decisions, paying bills on time, working hard, sharing and owning machinery with neighbors, and helping young people get started in business. For many years, he operated a silo-filling operation that about a dozen neighbors joined in getting that job done for each other. Sander was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church until it merged with Tracy Lutheran in 1962 and served on both church councils in a number of roles. He was currently a member of the Men’s Bible Study and led the lesson one week prior to his death. He served over twenty years as Secretary-Treasurer of the Tracy Farmers Coop Elevator and over twenty years as a board member for Lyon-Lincoln Electric Coop. He was a school board member for Amiret country school until it consolidated with Tracy and then later served on the Tracy School Board for a number of terms. He was a charter member of the Tracy Lions, served as President and pulled the Lions float for over twenty years in the Box Car Days and neighboring community parades. He worked closely with Mary Lou on many Wheels Across the Prairie Museum projects and served on the board for a number of years. Sander’s first love was the farm and he enjoyed seeing the crops grow and working with livestock. In later years, he would often do an almost daily road tour to see how the boys were doing their work. He and Mary Lou had the opportunity to travel, he was an avid reader, and he enjoyed watching his sons and grandchildren in high school sports. Sander had a love for cars and enjoyed the art of buying and selling them. He loved visiting and socializing with not only friends, but also complete strangers. Often, in a very short time whether it be a medical waiting room, an auction, or some other function. He could soon tell you where everyone was from and what they did. He sometimes was a good-hearted tease, especially to his grandchildren and great grandchildren but was also a great storyteller. Sander enjoyed arm-wrestling into his fifties, tractor pulling, and occasionally would do a comedy act called “Weeping Willie.” While he liked farm machinery of most any color, he was particularly interested in 560 Farmalls. He marveled at the changes he had seen in agriculture in his lifetime, from loading bundles as a teenager on a horse-drawn rack to today’s combines that would harvest the same in minutes. Survivors include three sons, Sandy (and Peggy) Ludeman and their children: grandson Sander (and Breanna) Ludeman, great-grandchildren Sander, Camden, granddaughter Dayna (and Ben) Bassett, great grandchildren Miles and Cora, son Brian (and Bonnie) Ludeman and their children: granddaughter Amanda (and Seth) Thompson, great-grandchildren Madelyn, Paige and Chloe, grandson Lucas (and Laura) Ludeman and great-grandchildren Landon, Lawson and Layton, son Cal (and Debra) Ludeman and their children: grandson Ben (and Stacy) Ludeman, great-grandchildren Kendra, Brooklyn and Sheridan, granddaughter Hilary (and Paul) Sanders and great-grandchildren Audrey, Marissa, Natalie, Trenton, Darian, and Hayden, grandson Grant (and Karolina) Ludeman and great-grandchildren Alison, Katelyn and Nathan, and numerous other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou, son Paul, parents Sander and Pauline, sister Bernice and brother Loren. Memorials preferred to the Tracy Lutheran Building Fund.