He lived in Pelham Manor, N.Y., for most of his life. It was there that he first met his bride-to-be, Angela “Gay” Katherine Kruse, in kindergarten. He attended the Lawrenceville School and entered Princeton in 1941 as an accelerated engineer. He played freshman and JV football, was on the freshman swim team, and was a member of the Newman and Engineering clubs and Cap and Gown. In June 1943, Lud entered the Navy V-12 program.
After Princeton Lud went to Midshipmen’s School at Prairie State College and was promptly assigned as an engineering officer in the Pacific. He saw combat at Iwo Jima fighting the kamikazes. His ship worked with the fast carriers to Tokyo Bay and V-J Day. He participated in the occupation of Japan for a few months before returning home to marry Gay.
Lud went to work for the Chase Bag Co. in 1946, where he worked in various departments and served as chairman and CEO for 15 years. The company grew extensively in size and profitability under his direction.
After retiring from Chase Bag he became part of International Paper Co. and served in a number of elected positions, including mayor of Pelham Manor. He was also president of the Pelham Country Club.
Lud and Gay were active in the Order of Malta, a worldwide Catholic philanthropic organization. In 1993, as Knight and Dame of Malta, they headed a pilgrimage of 225 people to Lourdes, France. He was a member of the national honorary engineering society Tau Beta Pi, and his interest in genealogy led him to the Sons of the Revolution and the Society of Colonial Wars.
He is survived by Gay, his wife of 71 years; daughters Gay, Leslie Orendorf, and Mary Felice; sons Francis Henry and Ralph Kruse; 11 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sister Mayde Henningsen.