Linda K. M. Ludgate

Judge Linda K. M. Ludgate, 82, passed away on Thursday, September 26, 2024 at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center.

Born in Rochester, New York, she was the fourteenth child of the late Robert and Nellie (Parsons) Mowson. After the death of her father, Linda was raised in Indiana. She returned to Rochester after high school and met her husband, Robert B. Ludgate, whom she married in 1961. Linda began at a community college in Rochester as a mother of four in 1972. She received a Bachelors from Alvernia College, magna cum laude, in 1977 and went on to enroll at the Temple University Beasley School of Law at age 38. She received her JD in 1980.

Upon graduation, Linda worked with Central Pennsylvania Legal Services and then with the Berks County Public Defender's Office. Her private practice focused on family, criminal defense, and business law. In 1989, she was elected to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas, where she was retained for three terms. While an Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division of the Court, Linda was appointed to the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission by the Chief Justice, as well as the Governor's Advisory Committee on Probation and Parole.

Judge Ludgate was a faculty member of the National Judicial College and the PCCD Victim Assistance Academy. As a member of the PA Trial Judges Association, she chaired the Meet Your Judges Forum. Judge Ludgate was an active member of both the National and International Associations of Women Judges, the Berks County Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She was also a founder of the Berks County chapter of the American Inns of Court, an association of legal professionals promoting excellence.

Judge Ludgate dedicated her life to serving her community, in particular to the underprivileged women and children.

Judge Ludgate is survived by her husband, Robert B. Ludgate, Sr.; sons: Robert B. Ludgate, Jr., husband of Mary Harris of Lancaster, James Brendan Ludgate of Reading, and Thomas B. Ludgate, husband of Jennifer, of Limerick; daughter, Dr. Laurie Ludgate of York; and grandchildren: Katie, Timothy, Jamison, Dana and Shane. Linda was preceded in death by her thirteen siblings.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated Tuesday October 1, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, 237 Franklin St, Reading, PA 19602. Inurnment will follow in the Chapel of St. George at Gethsemane Cemetery. Friends may call Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Contributions in Judge Ludgate's name may be made to Alvernia University, 400 Saint Bernardine St. Reading, PA 19607, or Safe Berks, formerly Berks Women In Crisis, 225 Chestnut St., Reading, PA 19602. Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., West Reading is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.