IU senior dies from brain tumor, family and friends mourn

After two weeks, senior Matt Luedeman finally convinced his roommates to watch “A Clockwork Orange.”

The three of them sat down to watch the 1971 movie about a futuristic, experimental aversion therapy that goes astray.

It was a strange physiological movie, but he loved it, said senior Jeff Caldwell, one of Luedeman’s roommates. He added that Luedeman had very different tastes in movies and loved both 1970s and black and white films.

Luedeman, 22, suffered from a brain tumor and died Thursday. He went to class last Monday. On Wednesday he had the seizure, that would cause him to come home to Indianapolis and eventually led to his death, said his mom Carla Putnam.

Luedeman was originally a direct admit to the Kelley School of Business, but switched to journalism  wanting to pursue a career in public relations, Putnam said. She said that from the moment he stepped into the School of Journalism, he knew that was what he wanted to do.

“He really pushed himself,” she said. “It was an amazing thing to watch.”
Shortly after that switch, he was diagnosed with the brain tumor.

But he was determined to stay in school, and he would have hated that he didn’t finish with only three weeks remaining, Putnam said.

He never complained and never whined. He was just approaching the diagnosis as he thought anyone would, Putnam said.

“I had to explain to him, ‘Honey, you don’t know how amazing you are.’”
The one thing that did bother him was that after the diagnosis, Luedeman wasn’t allowed to drive.

But Caldwell and senior Kyle Leiendecker, his other roommate, were always willing to drive him anywhere, so he never had to take the bus, Putnam said.

The roommates said they loved to hang out, play “Mario Party” and watch sports — Luedeman loved the Chicago Cubs and the Indianapolis Colts.

One summer, Leiendecker said he and Luedeman just decided on a whim to buy golf clubs and play.

“We weren’t very good,” Leiendecker laughed and added that Luedeman was a fun loving and smart guy who he’d never forget.

Luedeman also had a dog named Stu, a mutt that Leiendecker said resembled both a Beagle and Doberman. After freshman year, Luedeman decided that he wanted to live alone and get a dog, so he went to the shelter and rescued Stu, Putnam said.

“He and Stu were buds from that moment on,” she said and added that his roommates loved Stu and knew that if they lived with Luedeman, they lived with Stu.

Growing up, Luedeman played baseball and was a pitcher in high school.
Putnam said the team and his friends took up all his time. The visitations on Monday and Tuesday for her son were a fanfare that she said celebrated his life. 

Putnam added that Luedeman was very independent and she thought his friends admired that about him.
“He would have soared,” she said. “He just would have.”