Richard P. Luedtke, 85 - IDGenWeb

2A BONNERS FERRY HERALD Thursday, December 18, 2008

OBITUARIES

Richard P. Luedtke, 85In the early morning of

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008,Richard P. Luedtke, 85,passed away in his sleep at hishome, the Welcome Ranch inEastport.

Memorial services will beheld at noon Saturday, Dec.20, at Crossroads Chapel. Aremembrance gathering willfollow at Good Grief Cafe.

"Doc" was born March 27,1923, in North Chicago toPhilip and Helen Fortin.

Richard's parents divorcedwhen =he was 5, and he andhis mother moved to Antioch,111., where he graduated fromhigh school.

Richard entered Iowa StateUniversity and belonged tothe Army Veterinary Corpfrom 1942 to 1944 while incollege.

He continued to work as afield inspector for the Armywhile completing his degreein Doctor of VeterinaryMedicine in 1945.

During this time, Richard's

m o t h e rr e m a r -ried OttoL u e d t k e ,who adopt-ed Richardat age 21.

He prac-ticed vet-e r i n a r y

medicine at various clinics inIllinois until starting his ownclinic in Oregon, 111. It becamea very successful practice.

During this time, Richardmade several trips to the Westand then sold his practice totake a job with the federalgovernment as a veterinarianfor the top five counties ofIdaho.

The family moved toCoeur d' Alene, but Richardspent most of his time at theCanadian Border so he pur-chased the Welcome Ranchfrom the Davis family.

Doc quickly moved up inrank with the government,living around the countrv

while returning to WelcomeRanch each summer and dur-ing most vacations. He retiredas senior executive servicewhile in Washington, D.C.,and moved to the WelcomeRanch in 1988.

His late wife, Mary Ann,continued to work at BonnersFerry High School until herretirement. She passed awayin 2004.

Richard was a black belt injudo and a great lover of wild-life and animals. He and hiswife were very active in com-munity planning and zoningand the Republican party.

Richard is survived by hisson, Jason Luedtke; daugh-ters Leslie Zondervan-Drozand Leah Norton; and manygrandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The family suggestsmemorials be sent to IdahoConservation League, P.O.Box 844, Boise, Idaho, 83701-0844, attention Huki Molina.

Family and friends can signRichard's book at www.bon-nersferryfuneralhome.com.

Bonners Ferry FuneralHome handled arrange-ments.