[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 93 (Monday, June 13, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E899-E900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO JUDGE EDMUND V. LUDWIG

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 13, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of 
Judge Edmund V. Ludwig of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, a retired U.S. 
District Court judge and prominent figure in the legal, cultural, and 
historic life of Bucks County who died on May 17, 2016, three days 
short of his 88th birthday.
  In June 1985, on the recommendation of U.S. Senators, John Heinz III 
and Arlen Specter, President Ronald Reagan nominated Ludwig to fill the 
seat vacated by Judge Raymond Broderick. The Senate confirmed the 
appointment, and Judge Ludwig took the bench on Oct. 17, 1985. He 
became a senior judge on May 20, 1997, and gradually reduced his 
workload until retiring a couple of years ago.
  In 1996, Judge Ludwig ordered Major League Baseball umpires to work 
through the World Series after they threatened to boycott games in the 
wake of the Roberto Alomar spitting incident.
  Angry over a third-strike call, Alomar, the Baltimore Orioles star 
second baseman, spit at umpire John Hirschbeck. Alomar claimed that the 
umpire had uttered a racial slur. Hirschbeck was furious at Alomar's 
comments, and other umpires were outraged by the incident.
  However, Judge Ludwig stayed above the fray.
  ``These umpires are the best, and without them, the harm to baseball 
will be irreparable,'' he ruled. ``The game of baseball occupies a 
special place in this country and it belongs to the millions of fans.''
  Jeremy Heep, the judge's law clerk in the mid-1990s and now a partner 
at the Pepper Hamilton firm, said his former boss epitomized a true 
public servant.
  ``He was a wonderful judge in his own right, but in addition to that, 
he used the inherent prestige that came with the robe to influence 
society in a good way. It was a wonderful thing to watch,'' Heep said.
  ``He would quietly go behind the scenes, pick up the phone, and call 
people. He would further very good causes--promoting juvenile justice, 
improving mental health services in Pennsylvania, and getting the bar 
to improve indigent representation.''
  An educator as well as a jurist, Judge Ludwig held faculty positions 
at Hahnemann University, Temple Law School, Villanova Law School, and 
the University of Pennsylvania.
  Among his many honors was the Justice William J. Brennan Jr. 
Distinguished Jurist Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association in 
2005.
  Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Henry and Ruth Viener Ludwig. 
He graduated from Germantown Friends School in 1945 and earned degrees 
from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. A Korean War veteran, he 
was honorably discharged with the rank of captain from the Army Judge 
Advocate General's Corps, after which he took up private practice in 
Doylestown. In 1968, Judge Ludwig was elected to Bucks County Court and 
served until 1985.
  In 1995, he founded the Doylestown Historical Society, of which he 
served as chair until 2011. Tina Mazaheri, the society's founding 
secretary, who served with him on its board of directors, said the 
judge wanted to ensure that future generations would have the means to 
enjoy the town and its history.
  Judge Ludwig helped establish social service programs, and served on 
the boards of groups focused on youth and juvenile justice, mental 
health, alternatives to incarceration, support for women, and rights 
for the disabled. In 1971, he cofounded TODAY Inc., a residential drug 
treatment program, and served on its board until 1985.
  Part of his effectiveness lay in his tenacious pursuit of any project 
he tackled. Ultimately, though, Judge Ludwig ``was always about making 
sure that people who needed help got help, and about recognizing those 
who gave the help, but not himself,'' Mazaheri said.
  An avid reader, Judge Ludwig enjoyed Shakespeare, poetry, and 
historical fiction. He delighted in telling jokes and exploring the art 
of the pun. He played and watched tennis, and loved to eat out at local 
restaurants with family and friends.
  He was married to Elizabeth Serkin for 18 years before they divorced. 
They had four children.

[[Page E900]]

  He also was divorced from Sara Webster.
  Besides his former wives and daughter, he is survived by sons Edmund 
V. Jr., Toby, and David, and five grandchildren. A grandson preceded 
him in death.
  And that is just the way it is.

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