Clarence “Bill” Ludwig

06/18/1916 –

01/14/2012

Bernard T. Meiners, 95 of Coon Rapids, died Monday, September 1, 2025 at Thomas Rest Haven in Coon Rapids surrounded by his family.

Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Friday, September 5, 2025 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dedham. The Celebrant will be Fr. Patrick Behm, assisted by Deacon Louis Meiners. Music will be by Jane Heithoff and the St. Joseph’s Choir. Lector for the Funeral Mass will be Jill Klein. Gift Bearers will be Talina Haskins, Caitlin ThongVahn, and Amanda Meiners. Casket Bearers will be Brian Meiners, Ben Meiners, Aaron Meiners, Lucas Meiners, Jason Nees, Mike Nees, Ryan Schultes, Tyler Schultes, Jordan Schultes, Justin Meiners, and Trenton Meiners. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Dedham with military honors conducted by the Dedham American Legion.

A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll with a rosary at 7 p.m. The casket will be moved to St. Joseph’s Church on Friday morning where additional visitation will be from 9:30-10:15 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left at the funeral home or the church for a later designation.

Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Bernard’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.

Clarence “Bill” Ludwig, 95 of Breda, died Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Swan House in Carroll.
Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Breda. The Celebrant will be Fr. Richard Remmes. Mass Servers will be Kylie Daniel and Matt Wessling. Music will be by Marilyn Hundling and the St. Bernard’s Choir. Lector for the funeral mass will be Marlene Goecke. Eucharistic Ministers will be Mary Kay Uhlenkamp and Leonard and Jean Grote. Casket Bearers will be: Nicholas Ludwig, Josh Ludwig, David Ludwig, Kelly Eby, Tim Freis, and Doug Gerken. The Breda Catholic Order of Foresters will form an honor guard for the funeral mass. Burial will be in St. Bernard’s Cemetery in Breda.
Friends may call at the Sharp Funeral Home in Breda after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday where there will be a rosary at 4 p.m. by the Breda Catholic Order of Foresters and a Christian Wake Service by St. Bernard’s Parish at 6 p.m.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Born on June 18, 1916 at Breda, Iowa, Clarence was the son of Albert and Elizabeth (Nepple) Ludwig. Bill spent his entire lifetime in the Breda area and attended St. Bernard’s School. On May 10, 1944 he married Lillian Wernimont at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. Lillian passed away in January of 1952 and on June 25, 1976 Bill married Verna Gerken. He was a lifelong farmer and dairyman. In 1929 Bill bought his first registered Heifer. He received many local and statewide honors for his registered Holstein cow herd. Bill was active in the Holstein Association where he attended many national shows and meetings. Bill was a talented woodworker and also enjoyed the company of his family. He was a member of the State and National Holstein Associations, West Central Dairy Herd Improvement Association, Breda Catholic Order of Foresters, and St. Bernard’s Parish in Breda.
Survivors include his son, Mark Ludwig and his wife Connie of Breda; his grandchildren: Nicholas (Jaime) Ludwig and their children, Evan and Ethan of Stilwell, KS, Josh Ludwig of Breda, and David Ludwig of Breda; his stepchildren: Don (JoAnn) Gerken of Breda, Marlene Goecke of Remsen, LeRoy (Judy) Gerken of Columbia, MO, Rosemary (Larry) Daniel of Lidderdale, and Karen (Tom) Freis of Omaha, NE; 18 step-grandchildren; 46 step-great-grandchildren; his sister: Helen Heithoff of Coon Rapids; his sisters-in-law: Thelma Wernimont of Carroll, Marie Wernimont of Sioux City, Agnes Meiners of Jefferson, and Jeanette Liechti of Arcadia; his brother-in-law, Wayne (Betty) Anderson of Carroll; as well as other relatives and many friends.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; wife Lillian in January 1952; wife Verna in June 2006; and his sister, Wilma Ludwig.

Church Service

Friday, September 5, 2025 10:30 a.m.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
420 3rd Ave, Dedham, IA 51440

Burial

Sharp Funeral Home ~ Carroll, Iowa

226 W. 8th St., Carroll, IA, 51401

712-792-4301

[email protected]

https://www.sharpfuneral.com

Church Service

Thursday, September 4, 2025
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Rosary at 7:00 p.m.
Sharp Funeral Home – Carroll
226 W. 8th St, Carroll, IA 50401

Friday, September 5, 2025
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
420 3rd Ave, Dedham, IA 51440

Obituary

Born March 31, 1930, he was the son of Bernard and Catherine (Rotert) Meiners. He grew up in the Dedham-Willey area and graduated from St. Mary’s School in Willey in 1943. He entered the U.S. Army July 8, 1953 and was stationed at Wurzburg, Germany. He was discharged on May 20, 1955.

Bernard married Dolores S. Halbur on January 24, 1956 at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Halbur. After being married Bernard and Dolores lived 3 miles north of Dedham for two years. In 1958, they moved to the farm they purchased four miles east of Dedham. They were the parents of six children: Daniel, Dale, David, Cathleen, Christine, and Gary. Dolores passed away January 21, 1978.

On August 9, 1980, Bernard married Marita Eickman at Annunciation Catholic Church in Coon Rapids. In May 2011, Bernard and Marita moved off the farm into the town of Coon Rapids, Iowa. They made their home there for 14 years. In April 2025, they moved to Parkview Assisted Living in Coon Rapids, Iowa.

During Bernard’s lifetime, he farmed, had a dairy operation, had a cow/calf operation, and raised hogs. He retired in 1992. He is a current member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church of Dedham, a member of the Dedham American Legion Post #20, and a member of the Manning VFW. In July 2001 Bernard, being a Korean Veteran, had the privilege to go on the Military Honor Flight to Washington DC. Just recently he was presented with a Quilt of Valor at Thomas Rest Haven, and at the age of 95 he still enjoyed attending the Legion meetings.

Bernard loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Holiday gatherings were a treat for him to get to see most of them at one time. In his spare time Bernard enjoyed gathering black walnuts in the fall and kept busy shelling the walnuts during the winter. Family and friends benefited from the fruits of his labor.

Bernard is survived by his wife of 45 years, Marita Meiners; his children, Dale (Mary) Meiners of Carroll, David (Jane) Meiners of Varna, IL, Cathleen (Larry) Nees of Coon Rapids, Christine (Mark) Schultes of Dedham, and Gary (Barb) Meiners of Manson; 19 grandchildren; 32 great grandchildren with 2 more coming in October; a brother Anthony (Colleen) Meiners of Carroll; 2 sisters, Catherine Wittrock of Carroll and Marcella Naberhaus of Carroll; his sisters-in-laws, Margaret (Tom) Denker of Manning, and Pat (Joe) Goblirsch of Jesup. He is also survived by Marita’s children, Richard (Sandy) Eickman of Omaha, NE, James (Joni) Eickman of Dyer, TN, Dave (Joan) Eickman of Macungie, PA, Randy (Rose) Eickman of Coon Rapids, Nancy Eickman and Jim Springer of Warren, NJ, and Karen Heck of Delano, MN, and many nieces and nephews.

Bernard was preceded in death by his first wife Dolores S. Meiners; a son Daniel J. Meiners; Marita’s son Bill Eickman; his parents Bernard and Catherine Meiners; his brothers John (Margaret) Meiners, Albert (Frances) Meiners; his brothers-in-law Clarence Wittrock, Norbert Naberhaus, Cletus (Emaline) Halbur, Norman (Inez) Halbur, Larry (JoAnn) Halbur; his brother-in-law, William (Marie) Halbur; Dolores’ parents, William and Frances Halbur, and stepmother-in-law, Josephine Halbur.

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Tribute Wall

•What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more touch, we may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget.

Manning – January 17 2012 at 2:16 PM

I will miss Bill, especially his sense of humor. I enjoyed when he let Neil know that he looks like a "little Neppl."

Michael, Beth & Kate Doidge – January 17 2012 at 9:36 AM

We very much enjoyed knowing Bill. He was a really nice person and enjoyed talking with him.

Glenda & Robert Ravenelle – January 16 2012 at 11:51 AM

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