ARLINGTON, Va. - Edith Mitylene (Smith) Ludwick, 95, long-time resident of Keyser, died Tuesday January 17, 2017 at Cherrydale Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Arlington, Virginia.Born January 8, 1922 in Strasburg, Virginia, she was the only child and daughter of Galen Royer and Velva Gertrude (Newland) Smith.  In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Carl R. Ludwick.While Mrs. Ludwick was proud of her heritage as a native born Virginian and her life in Washington, she was even more proud of the City of Keyser and the State of West Virginia, and she loved both dearly.  She will be remembered for her willingness to lend a hand to whomever or whatever cause needed help and she continued to do so until her health required her to relocate to an assisted living facility in 2013.After moving with her family to Washington, DC as a child, she graduated from Eastern High School and Wilson Teachers College.  During that time, she was a member of a group from the Washington City Church of the Brethren who attended Youth Camp at Camp Galilee in Terra Alta.  There she met Carl and became friends with Anna Mae Ludwick, Carl's cousin, who facilitated future meetings between them at camp and in Washington.  As was the custom, they wrote letters to each other while Carl served in the US Army during World War II.  After her graduation, she taught first grade for a year and upon his discharge they were married in 1946 and she moved to Keyser.  She relayed the story that when she moved to Keyser, steam locomotives were still in use by the B & O and she had to sweep the porch of their residence on West Street a couple of times a day to remove the soot.Edith served as the Secretary/Treasurer for Ludwick Chevrolet, Inc., but her major contributions and interests were in community service.Mrs. Ludwick was Active in the Keyser Church of the Brethren beginning as a member of the choir and eventually serving as the adult and junior choir director there for many, many years.  She also served as a Sunday school teacher, Bible School teacher, commission member or chair, and pianist.  She was honored as a lifetime deacon and served several years as the chairperson of the deacon board.  She served the greater Church community through her continuing affiliation with Camp Galilee and the West Marva District.Children and young people were important to Edith and she could be counted on to lend a hand as a homeroom mother or help in any other way.  She was very active with the American Field Service and served as the mother to two AFS students, Kalle Lisberg of Norway in 1967-68, and Emmanuel Camassa of Cyprus in 1970-71 and she continued her service with AFS for over 40 years.  She and Carl often hosted going away parties at their Deep Creek Lake Cottage for area AFS students to help them decompress and prepare for their return home after a year in America.She loved Music and the Arts.  She was a long-time soprano with the Keyser Community Choir and she and Carl were asked to sing duets regularly.  One of her biggest disappointments over the past few years was that her health no longer allowed her to sing.The Arts were extremely important to her and she worked tirelessly to promote and continue the success of Highland Arts Unlimited in bringing artists from all fields to Keyser.  She was appointed to and served as a member of the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Commission in Charleston for 20 years.Edith was an avid reader and in more recent times, a crossword "puzzler."  She liked Scrabble and it was in your best interest to try to be her partner because of her vocabulary. Mrs. Ludwick was a member of the Keyser Garden Club and served as its president for many years.  She was a member of the Keyser Main Street Committee and served as a member and officer with the local chapter of the American Association of University Women.  She served as a member of the Board of Advisers at Potomac State College and received a Distinguished Service Award from the college in 2013.Mrs. Ludwick is survived by two sons, Carl R. Ludwick, Jr. (Rick) and Mary Anderson of Falls Church, VA and Bruce E. Ludwick and wife, Gail, of Core (Morgantown), WV; grandsons Bruce E. Ludwick, Jr. (Luddy) and wife, Erin, of Birmingham, AL and Charles D. Ludwick II of Milwaukee, WI and wife, Agnieszka Kosmecka; great grandsons Joseph A. Ludwick, Peter A. Ludwick, Thomas G. Ludwick, and Maximilian P. Ludwick, born on January 17!; step sister-in-law Susanna Coffman; cousins Charlene Carey and husband, Dave, of Vienna, VA, Wesley B. Hammond and wife, JJ, of Diamondhead, MS, Linda Camper of Rutherfordton, NC, and Ernest F. Smith, Jr. and wife, Helen, of Broadway, VA.  Additional survivors include many cousins from the Smith, Newland, and Frederick families in Virginia and step nieces and nephews gained as a result of Carl's father's marriage to Ruth Coffman.Friends may call at the Smith Funeral Home, Keyser Chapel, on Monday January 23, 2017 from 2 to 4 and from 6 to 8 PM.Funeral services will be at the Keyser Church of the Brethren on Tuesday January 24, 2017 at 2:00 PM.  The body will be taken to the church one hour prior to the service.Interment will be in the Arnold Cemetery, Junction, WV preceded by a brief graveside service.The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the Keyser Church of the Brethren, 152 S. Main Street, Keyser, WV 26726, Highland Arts Unlimited, PO Box 63, Keyser, WV 26726, or another .Condolences and personal reflections to the family may be left after Mrs. Ludwick's obituary at smithfuneralhomes.net.