Our Founder
ROSALIND R. LUDWIG
Born Rosalind Rodgers on Nov. 20, 1915 in Cincinnati, Ohio, ”Roz” graduated from the Teachers College at the University of Cincinnati in 1936. She taught 8th grade, and then high school English.
But at this time, World War II was on everyone’s minds, and Roz felt it was her duty to contribute on behalf of her family, since her parents had no sons. She volunteered with the Red Cross, which trained her in Washington, DC, and dispatched her to Agra, in India, in 1942.
In Agra, Red Cross volunteers, almost all of them college graduates, supported the servicemen, whether it meant writing a letter home, sitting with them, putting on skits and entertainment, giving tours to the Taj Mahal, or staffing the canteen. Roz was named Director of Military Recreation. She remained stationed there until 1945, when she returned with several soldiers being evacuated from Italy.
After her return, she met James Katzman, whom she married in 1947. The couple moved to South Florida in the early 1950s. It was here that Roz began her lifelong support of Florida culture, volunteering for the Concert Association, the New World Symphony. From coordinating benefits to selling tickets, there was nothing Roz wouldn’t do to help.
But Roz never forgot her first career and passion – teaching children. She returned to college to get her Master’s degree so she could teach special education. Miami-Dade officials remember Roz as an itinerant speech therapist, driving from one school to another, always wearing her trademark hat. Eventually, Roz became head of the gifted program for northeast Dade County.
Jim Katzman died in 1972, after 25 years of marriage. Roz became acquainted with Sidney Ludwig, and they married in 1976. Both passionate about giving back to the community, they created the Rosalind R. and Sidney Ludwig Foundation to help children with physical and emotional problems. Sidney passed away in 1988.
Though twice widowed, Roz Ludwig never slowed down. She served on the Executive Board of the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Red Cross, receiving both the Spectrum Award for Women and the Janet Baker Scholarship Award from the organization. Later, she funded one of the Spectrum Awards each year. She also served on the board of the Bertha Abess Children’s Center for children with severe emotional problems.
In 2007, Roz created the Rosalind R. Ludwig Children’s Foundation, appointing her lawyer, Marty E. Davis, Esq., as its Executive Director.
Since that time, the Foundation has given thousands of dollars to various organizations helping children. These efforts include: vans for grass roots organizations, scholarships to Dade and Broward students, sponsorship of book scholarships for at-risk children, and donations to organizations helping children in foster care, single-parents homes, and those who have been abused and suffered in the criminal justice system.
Roz continued to lead life to the fullest, right up to her last days. She passed away in Miami on April 14th, 2009 in Miami, at the age of 93.
In the spirit in which Roz lived, the “Friends of Roz” have vowed to keep her name alive through her Foundation, and this site was created in honor of her memorial service, held May 21, 2009.
Donations to the Rosalind R. Ludwig Foundation will allow for the continuation of Roz’s many good works.
