Anne Allen

Anne (Joseph) Allen was born on January 21, 1943, in Denver Colorado, to Harold R. Joseph and Mary Anne Thornton Joseph. She passed away in Dayton, Ohio, on July 31, 2014.

Anne was loved for her humor, quick wit, smile and culinary skills. She spent most of her youth in Austin, Texas. She was fearless, spirited and an excellent athlete especially in competitive backstroke with the Austin Aquatic Club. She had lifelong friends including many from all of the places she lived while married to Shelby Allen during his military career. Over the last 20+ years of her life in Dayton, she was honored to have many, many devoted friends who she considered more like family. At the time of her death, she had been working hard to prepare for a move back to her roots in Texas.

Anne earned her Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and she worked as a counseling social worker in both hospitals and private practice for many years and also with Hospice of Dayton. Anne was involved in several unique organizations which fed her spiritual nature including Noble Circle Project and Threshold Choir. She loved the arts, natural beauty, gardening and Tex-Mex Food. She loved singing lullabies to the baby elephants in Thailand.

She is survived by her brother, Russell Joseph and wife, Kathy of Houston; her sister, Nancy Perryman of Austin; her niece, Katy Crawford and husband, James of Round Rock; and her nephews, Robert Perryman and wife, Kathleen of Dallas, Michael Joseph and wife, Sheri of Charlotte, NC and Harold Joseph of Houston. She took great delight in her great nieces, Rachel, Rebecca and Kami Crawford of Round Rock and great nephews, Ian and Reid Joseph of Charlotte; and her former husband, Shelby Allen of Houston.

Extra special friends were Mary Anne Robinson, Sister Marie Karen Sammons, S.C., the late Maureen Burke, all of Dayton, Anne and Aaron Burke of Vandalia, and Kate Munger, founder of Threshold Choir, Inverness, CA, and her cradle to grave friends from Austin, Texas, Missy Jackson, Beri Milburn, Mary Ellen Oliver and Susan Driver and a multitude of loyal and loving friends everywhere.

A celebration of her life will be held on Monday, August 4, 2014 from 6pm to 8pm at the Newcomer Funeral Home (South Chapel), 3940 Kettering Blvd, Kettering, OH. Please come ready to share one of your favorite "Anne" stories. In lieu of flowers, a donation in her honor to a charity close to the donor's heart would be fitting with her spirit.