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Jane Anne Allen, 89, of University Place, passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 27 in University Place after a very brief illness. She was born on July 26 in Mitchell, South Dakota, and is preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Margaret Mary Smith and her sister, Margaret Mary Brosnan Wilkerson. She grew up in Huron, South Dakota, matriculated at Presentation Junior College and Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and taught in Aberdeen and Pierre, South Dakota.
Jane Anne married John Allen in 1957, moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and had two sons. She worked to put her husband through law school and also managed to turn a small, student-housing trailer into a home for four. After relocating to the Chicago suburbs in 1966, she went on to have two daughters. She was an actively involved mother for more than two and a half decades—volunteering for the PTA and Cub Scouts, hosting dinners for her children’s teachers and running busy households in Park Forest, Illinois, Wheaton, Illinois, and Winnetka, Illinois.
In the 1980s, she went back to school, receiving degrees at National College of Education in Evanston, Illinois, and Erikson Institute in Chicago before returning to teaching and working as the director of a preschool. When Jane Anne finally found time for herself in the 1990s, she moved to the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago and then settled in Evanston. She served on her condo board, volunteered as a tutor, attended cultural events and supported her sports teams—the Bears, the Bulls and the Cubs—through all their ups and downs.
After moving to University Place in the 2000s, Jane Anne enjoyed making new friends, getting to know a different region of the US, and finding fresh volunteer opportunities, such as at the Pierce County Aging and Disability Resource Center, where she received an award for her service. She loved to work in her garden, read books and the daily newspaper, cook old family recipes and talk to her children, grandchildren and many lifelong friends. To the very end, she was grateful for the ability to live an independent life in her own home. Her proud self-reliance and positive attitude were an example to everyone who knew her.
Jane Anne is survived by her beloved children, Tom (Beth Levison) Allen; Tim (Jessica Spring) Allen; Tracy Allen and Teri (Matt McDonough) Allen. She also leaves behind six adored grandchildren, Simone, Noah, Jack, Peyton, Grady and Shea.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her memory to the Marblehead Counseling Center (marbleheadcounseling.org).
