Johann (John) B. Ludwig, a descendant of Dutch immigrants, was born in 1932. He later married Diana Ludwig and together they raised six children in Edmonton. Maintaining strong connections to his Dutch heritage throughout his life, Ludwig attended Dutch-language school as a child, spoke the language fluently, and used this skill to translate a family history originally written in Dutch by a relative.

In 1970, Ludwig submitted his Master’s thesis to the University of Alberta and subsequently received his Master of Education Degree.

For over 30 years, Ludwig was the President of both Frisia Properties Ltd. and Frisia Realty Ltd., based in both Alberta and British Columbia. Frisia Properties Ltd. was incorporated on March 12, 1976 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia and then registered in Alberta on May 12, 1976. The company was continued to Alberta on April 6, 2000, and was finally dissolved in Edmonton on November 2, 2009. Frisia Realty Ltd. was incorporated in Edmonton, Alberta on July 3, 1981, continued in Alberta on January 17, 1983, and finally dissolved in Edmonton on January 2, 2010. Both businesses dealt in mortgages and property sales. On July 3, 1981, Frisia Properties gave Frisia Realty their consent to use that name, and there a great deal of evidence within the records of crossover and intercommunication between the two companies, who were both managed by Ludwig and had common shareholders (including Ludwig’s wife and several of his children), although they were operated by separate teams in the two provinces. The records of both companies were kept together, intermingled by Ludwig. By the time that both Frisia Properties Ltd. and Frisia Realty Ltd. were dissolved, in 2009 and 2010, respectively, Ludwig was the sole proprietor.

Ludwig died in Edmonton on October 31, 2010. His daughter, Anita Blais, gained custody of his records and donated them to the Provincial Archives of Alberta in 2013.