Kara A. Ludwig

Kara Avonlea Ludwig was born January 23, 2018. She was 1 pound, 3 ounces of fierce stubbornness in a tiny package. A super-micro preemie, Kara embraced the “super” part whole-heartedly.



Known for being a strong and mighty fighter her entire life — even before she was born — Kara embodied the spirit of her namesake Supergirl. She inspired people to believe that you can overcome anything, no matter the odds. And, make no mistake, size matters not.



Kara was so impatient to meet her parents and the world that she skipped the entire third trimester. This would mark the first, but not the last, time that she would jump into a new adventure without her parents’ approval. Kara has been an outlier her entire life, a statistical miracle who constantly beat the odds, not only marching to the beat of her own drum but completely building her own percussion section from scratch, often using cups, spoons, and occasionally her dog.



Arriving in the NICU as one of the earliest and smallest babies on the hospital’s record, Kara conquered several serious health complications to be one of their greatest success stories. And after a lengthy hospital stay — and handing out an equal measure of new gray hairs to her parents and nurses — Kara did something few babies her size get to do: she went home.



She went home and she thrived.



She brought her parents immeasurable joy and heartache. And while right now it’s the heartache that is most fierce, we hope that, in time, the heartache will fade and we’ll be left with the joy of our memories of our beautiful little girl.



Our mighty munchkin tackled everything that came her way, living her life with unbridled joy and happiness every single day. If you had the pleasure of meeting this tiny toddler, you would never guess all of the trials she had overcome. She was boisterous, clever, funny, immensely kind and empathetic, eager to help, and always ready to make other people smile.



Kara left this world the same way she entered it: unexpected and much too early.



She passed away peacefully May 7, 2021, early in the morning, just as the sun was rising, held tightly by her mommy and daddy.



Three years is much too short for any child.



One thing we can take comfort in is that Kara was loved — so loved. We showered her with hugs and snuggles and told her we loved her at least 20 times a day, and she eagerly reciprocated right back, often with gleeful laughter as she squeezed us as tight as she could and blew kisses to everyone she met.



Kara loved her Boston Terrier Bazinga, her faithful sidekick on many adventures. She loved her Daddy and Mommy, giggling uncontrollably, finding treasures on walks, not taking her nap, helping in the kitchen, hiding in the laundry pile, exploring the outside world, finding little treasures on walks, playing video games with Daddy, picking flowers with Mommy, and reading mountains of books.



Kara could often be found curled up in front of the large bay window in her house with a book, using her dog as a pillow, occasionally looking up at the tree branches blowing in the wind or to shout an enthusiastic “Hello!” to the squirrels playing in her yard.



She is preceded in death by her grandfather, Ron Ludwig, who never got to meet her in person, but is undoubtedly wasting no time teaching his granddaughter all the good swears. She is survived by her parents, John and Stephanie Ludwig; her grandparents, Curt and Barb Queen, and Cheryl Ludwig; her Uncle Jason McNutt and Auntie Joy Ludwig-McNutt, her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jessica Queen, numerous cousins, family, friends, and an army of nurses, doctors, and specialists who became family throughout her life.



Visitation and burial will be private. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 19, at LifeSpring Church, 13904 S. 36th St., Bellevue, Neb. In honor of Kara and other children who may have underlying heart or health conditions, strict Covid policies will be followed and masks will be required for all mourners. Services will be livestreamed at https://heartstreaming.net/kara-a-ludwig.



The family encourages you to wear a pop of yellow, Kara’s favorite color, and to try to live life the way she did every day: spreading kindness and joy, helping others, and reveling in the wonder and the magic of the world all around us.