Daniel H. Ludlow was impressive in his work and in his church.
He served as the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints correlation department for 15 years.
He was the editor of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.
He served as the first director of the BYU Semester Abroad in Israel and directed tours to Israel, Mexico and Central America.
He was a regional representative, an ordained temple worker, a branch president and president of the Australia Perth Mission.
He wrote books and taught religion, serving as dean of religious instruction and director of the Institute of Mormon Studies.
But he also had time for fun and games, say his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. (He had eight living children, 42 grandchildren and 64 great-grandchildren at the time of his death Feb. 14, 2009, at the age of 84.)
"He was a game player. He invented games,"said grandson Brandon Pearce. Among those was a version of the game "Sorry."
Ludlow's daughter, Shauna Smith, said her dad's version of the "Sorry" game was crafted out of a piece of linoleum flooring with holes drilled into it and pegs that moved from square to square.
Carolyn Sweeny, his oldest daughter, said the Ludlow version of "Sorry" was called "Dirty" and was displayed at the funeral.
"He always had an amazing sense of humor. He was loving," Smith said. "I remember one time he brought home a calculator, a big expensive thing, and I was using it to do my homework. I tripped on the fireplace and dropped it and, of course, it broke. He just said, 'Well, it was an accident. Forget it,' and that was the end of it."
Sweeny said she remembers quite a different father, though the humor was there.
"They're the spoiled ones," said Sweeny, who explained that for the first five children, the Ludlow parents were busy going to school, trying to make a living and studying. For the later children, life was more relaxed and settled.
"If we ever did anything wrong, he would said, 'OK, I want you to set the punishment,' and that was always worse than what he would have set," Sweeny said.
Ludlow instilled an impressive work ethic in his children, insisting they help weed and mow a big patch of ground near the home. Later, he built a nine-hole miniature golf course on the same ground and let each of the nine children design a hole.
He took the family camping and fishing and climbed ruins as recently as 10 years ago with them.
"We spent most of the summers traveling," said Smith. "We went to Yellowstone every summer. In 1996, he took most of the family to Israel. That was amazing."
Smith said every one of the 46 grandchildren attended the funeral.
"I think that's a huge tribute. My mom is just thrilled," she said. "I think every grandchild felt they could talk to him about anything."
Smith said Ludlow was clear about the rules he expected his children and grandchildren to follow but he never forced their behavior to meet his expectations.
"He just said, 'Here's the rules and you'll be happier if you follow them,' " she said. "He was not a strict disciplinarian at all."
Pearce said he has lots of fond memories of big family gatherings at a cabin in Midway and at second homes in St. George and in California.
"We would sleep on the floors, on the couches, all over the house. It was a big part of our growing up," he said.
"He enjoyed sports. He was a season ticket holder for BYU basketball games, and he followed his alma mater, Indiana University. At the home in St. George, he always played pool and billiards with us."
Smith said that in addition to family, the one thing from which Ludlow derived happiness was his chance to serve as a mission president.
He married his wife, Luene, before he had the opportunity to serve a mission, so it meant a great deal to him to be asked to be the president of the Australia Perth Mission.
"The last thing he said, before he died," said Smith, "was to ask, 'Are (grandsons) Cameron (Asay) and Stefan (Ludlow) still on their missions?' "
When the answer was yes, he relaxed and passed on peacefully.
"I think if they'd been expected home right away, he might have hung on longer (to see them again)," she said.
Sweeny said her father was a lot of fun and would tell a joke with his jowls shaking as he got to the punch line. He was still kidding around at the end of his life.
"We would always ask him, 'Am I your favorite daughter, am I your favorite grandson?' I came in and said, 'Am I your favorite daughter?' He said, 'Yes.' Mom said, 'Am I your favorite wife?' He said, 'For the moment!' "