Nancy E. Allen

Nancy Ellen Allen, daughter of Ellsworth and Elsie (Nelson) Graves was born August 8, 1931 in Harlan, Iowa. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, Harlan. She lived and attended elementary school in Harlan, and graduated from Harlan High School in 1949. During high school she worked as an intern at the Harlan Newspapers, where her mother, Elsie Graves, also worked for many years. After graduation, she was a secretary at Mutual of Omaha, in Omaha NE.
On September 3, 1960, she was united in marriage to Keith Allen, of rural Avoca, Iowa at the Methodist Church parsonage in Harlan, Iowa. They ran a cattle operation until the mid 1970's and also farmed south of Corley until Keith's retirement in 1980. To this union, two children were born. Nancy was a devoted farm wife who helped Keith with everything from cattle chores to cooking meals for the many hired hands who were lucky enough to have a meal at her table. She loved gardening, cooking, bingo, spoiling her grandchildren and also was known to enjoy an occasional casino or horse race outing. She was an avid sports fan, and especially loved watching her children, and then later her grandchildren, compete in their high school and college sports careers. Nancy was a lifetime member of the VFW Post 941 Auxiliary.
Nancy died on May 29, 2017 at 85 years of age, at Myrtue Memorial Hospital, Harlan, Iowa. In addition to her parents Ellsworth and Elsie, she was preceded in death by her husband, Keith Allen; her brothers Chuck, Cy, and Roger Graves, all of California, and her stepdaughter, Kathlyn Elmlinger, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
She is survived by her daughter, Marcie (Allen) Cave, of Harlan, IA; son Kevin Allen of Omaha, NE; sister Maurine (Dean) Butterfield, of Cave's Creek, AZ; and stepdaughter, Carolyn Allen, of Columbus, OH; 6 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many friends.