Helen was born March 3, 1931 in Bucyrus to John Benjamin Willie and Elsie May (Ferguson) Willie. She graduated first in her class at Bucyrus High School in 1949. Her work career began at The Swan Rubber Company in Bucyrus. Helen later worked for The National Cash Register Company in Dayton and finally returned to the Mansfield area to work for the United Telephone Company in the area of computer analyst. She retired from there.
On January 12, 1985 she married the love of her life, Robert Lee Ludwick. Helen and Lee wintered in Hawaii for many years until Lee’s health declined. They enjoyed 34 years together. He preceded her in death in August 2019.
Robert and Helen had been members of the Crestline Church of Christ for 35 years. They were involved in different missions and dearly loved their church family. The two also shared Bible study together each morning.
She took great pride in her lovely home where she resided for 43 years on Grandview Terrace. Helen loved flowers and gardening. She and Lee volunteered many years at Kingwood Center. She loved flowers so much that she and Lee transformed their yard into a beautiful memory garden, using many transplanted flowers from her mother’s flower garden in Bucyrus. Tours even stopped by their home to enjoy and visit the “Willie-Ludwick” memorial gardens. Flowers bloomed all summer long in their beautiful garden. It was heaven on earth.
Family members surviving Helen are nephew, Frank (Trish) Corona Jr.; nieces, Chris (Mike) Spaid and Deb (Jon) Mazandar; niece-in-law, Jacki Corona; many great and great-great nieces and nephews; two dear friends from Hawaii, Ellie Otake and Julie Peterson whom she also loved; step-children, Ray (Mary) Ludwick, Marc (Karen) Ludwick, and Monica Ludwick; step-grandchildren, Emily, Brian and Tessa; and step great-grandchildren, Liam and Alexa.
Helen was a sweet, kind and loving person who had a heart of gold when it came to helping others. She is met in Heaven by loved ones: her parents, John and Elsie Willie; her only sibling, her sister, Donna and her husband, Frank Corona Sr.; first husband, Jack Rush; her nephew, Carey J. Corona; her beloved husband, Lee Ludwick; and step-sons, Edward and Patrick Ludwick.
The family of Helen L. Rush-Ludwick wants to sincerely thank the loving caretakers at Carlisle Place in Bucyrus who treated Helen with love and kindness. We are very grateful for their tender loving care of her.
Family will receive guests from 12:00-1:00 pm on Friday, June 16, 2023 at Wappner Funeral Directors-Ontario, 100 S. Lexington Springmill Rd. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 pm. Burial will be at Dickey Cemetery in Ashland following the services. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601, K-Love Radio c/o Educational Media Foundation Attn: Gift Services, 5700 West Oaks Blvd., Rocklin, CA 95765 or Kingwood Center, 50 Trimble Rd., Mansfield, OH 44903.
