LUTGARDA "Ludy" Tamayo was a pretty young woman in Manila when she met her first husband at Malacanang Palace in 1945. As described in a July 4, 1964 article by Star-Bulletin writer Ligaya Fruto, Ludy often went for an afternoon swim in the Malacanang pool, thanks to a special pass. It’s never too late
for love and marriageOne day, intent on taking a dip, she found the pool empty. When a GI came to pump the water in, he took one look at the lovely lady and promptly lost two teeth. "He was so busy talking to me that he let go of the pump handle and it struck him in the mouth," recalls Ludy.
They were married a year later. After his honorable discharge, they set up housekeeping in the place of their dreams, Honolulu.
Thus launched Ludy Tessmer's life in Hawaii, which would include giving birth to and raising four children, and building three houses in Manoa. Not having three houses built, mind you, but actually erecting the structures with her own hands, with lots of help from her civil-engineer husband and her industrious kids.
When she couldn't find clothes for her delicate 82-pound frame, Ludy began sewing her own outfits. She became so adept that she opened a dressmaking shop in Waikiki called Pagoda Silks, which specialized in brocades and other exotic fabrics, and Filipino fashions.
Her store did well but her marriage fell apart. In 1966, she got divorced and sold her business.
Thus began phase two of Ludy's life. She became fascinated by the buying and selling of jewelry and learned the trade at Security Diamond and at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. In 1972, she opened a small store at King's Alley. By 1976, she channeled her energies into jewelry wholesaling instead of retailing.
Also that year, she became Ludy Marlo after marrying an airline pilot, who was also her tennis coach. That marriage lasted eight years, although her business continues to this day. "I swore I would never get married again," says Ludy, who lives in an immaculate and spacious apartment in Waikiki.
Then last October, Ludy took a 10-day cruise to South America. She met a handsome, polite and successful retired businessman from Dallas, who had served on the ship as a dance host to enjoy a free cruise. Her girlfriend sharing the cabin with her took Ludy aside and warned her, "John is falling in love with you."
No way, thought Ludy. She bid aloha to him after the final docking and went to the airport, but her flight was two hours late. Wandering around the terminal, she bumped into John.
He came up to her, looked straight into her eyes and said, "I knew I would find you." Ludy, who had never thought about the "M" word as a twice-divorced woman, thought, "Am I going to marry this guy?"
THIS Saturday afternoon -- after daily telephone calls and letters for the past year, and a romantic proposal on Valentine's Day 1997 -- 69-year-old Ludy Tamayo Tessmer Marlo is going to become Ludy Shelley.
She will be wearing an off-white short dress with long train that she altered herself, with yellow roses and orchids in her hair and bouquet. Her daughters will serve as matron of honor and bridesmaids.
Nobody tell her 70-year-old soon-to-be husband but, as a surprise at the reception, Ludy is going to hula to "Maile Lei" and serenade him with the "Hawaiian Wedding Song."
"I feel like I'm getting married for the first time," says Ludy. "I'm putting everything behind me and starting all over. I guess it's true: Never say never."