Deep roots and a love of fishing: the passing of former Friends Board Member Charles “Chuck” Ludwigsen

Chuck Ludwigsen

November 4, 2022

For some, the ties to the Apostle Islands and Lake Superior run deep. For Charles “Chuck” Ludwigsen, who passed away peacefully on October 12th, those roots ran as deep as a fishing line.

Born in Lombard, IL on April 17, 1937, Chuck traveled widely for both business and pleasure. Yet he never forgot his deep connection to the big lake and the Apostle Islands. His childhood summers were spent working the nets with his grandfather who had immigrated from Norway and became a commercial fisherman in the islands. When not fishing with nets, Chuck could often be found trolling or casting a line from his own boat on the big lake.

Chuck Ludwigsen fishing

His love for the lake and the islands led him to a position on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Apostle Islands from 2011 to 2018 as a way to watch over and give back to the place he loved so much.

“Chuck was a friend, a neighbor, a fellow boater, and always loved to tell stories of his fishing days in Bayfield,” says Jeff Rennicke, Friends Executive Director who now lives in the house Ludwigsen’s commercial fisherman grandfather once occupied. “He was a link in the living history of Bayfield and will be missed by many.”

Friends would like to extend their condolences to his family including Jean, his wife of 63 years.

A celebration of life service will be held in Houston on Tuesday, November 15, 11am, at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. A second celebration will be held in Bayfield in the summer of 2023.

As befitting his love of the islands and fishing, Chuck’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials should be sent to: Bayfield Maritime Museum, Charles Ludwigsen Fund, P.O. Box 1271, Bayfield, WI 54814, or Friends of the Apostle Islands, Charles Ludwigsen Fund, P.O. Box 1574 Bayfield, Wisconsin 54814. friendsoftheapostleislands.org.

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