Helen Tucker Farris Allen died peacefully in her home on Thursday, January 22, 2015. She was 95. Visitation will be at Wilson and Knight Funeral home Saturday, January 24, 2015, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. with services to follow at the funeral home. Burial will be in Odd Fellows cemetery. Mrs. Allen was born on February 28, 1919 to Clyde Tucker and James Luther Farris in Cave City, Kentucky. At age ten, she moved to Bowling Green, KY, where she graduated from high school and Western Kentucky Teachers College, now a university. She taught in Bowling Green, KY, for two years.
On September 6, 1941, she was married to Otis Wilmuth Allen of Vine Grove, KY. They immediately came to Greenwood to live.
She taught second and third grade at Davis School. She directed Career Education and was Coordinator of Special Services at Central Office for eleven years. She retired from the Greenwood Public Schools in 1987 after 32 years of service.
She mastered the art of cooking healthy meals and shared new recipes with friends. Welcoming family and friends to her home was one of her greatest joys. She traveled widely in the United States including Hawaii and Alaska.
She was one of the first Ambassadors of the Leflore County Chamber of Commerce. For ten years she served on the Library board of the local library.
Cottonlandia Education and Recreational Foundation was of great interest to her and she was a one term president of the board and a Friend. Formerly, she was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and the Leflore Cancer Society.
She took great interest in her five children and referred to them as her "angels" because they took such good care of her.
Her family was fortunate to spend vacations at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, for eleven summers. An enhanced love of nature developed. Gardening became a hobby. She loved many kinds of house plants which she readily shared.
She was an active member of First Baptist Church teaching children and adults and promoting missions. She was known for visiting the elderly and assisting them in many ways.
She was a seventy three year member of the Greenwood Woman's Club serving as president and program chairman.
Her hobbies included reading, traveling, sewing and bridge. Bridge with friends was her greatest pleasure.
Surviving her are her three daughters, Alice Tucker Allen, Gainesville, Florida; Rebecca Farris and her husband, Jimmy of Morton, Mississippi; and Gay Redditt of Sidon; her two sons, Otis Wilmuth Allen, Jr. and his wife, Frances of Columbus; James Fredrick Allen and his wife, Melinda, of Greenwood. Eight grandchildren are Marsh Ray and his wife, Addey, of Seattle, Washington, Dr. Brad Farris of Atlanta, Ga; Holly Ray and her husband, David Tostenson, of Hays, Kansas; Peterson Allen of Columbus; Tucker Redditt Lipe and her husband, Pratt, of Austin, Texas; Gerald Allen and his wife, Shea of Birmingham; Will Redditt and his wife, Amanda, of Greenwood; and Daniel Allen of Greenwood. Four great granddaughters are Lilly Ray and Mary Rose Ray, Leah Katherine Lipe and Emily Taylor Lipe. Two great grandsons are Anders Ray and Henry Tostenson.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents; four sisters, Mayme Bennett, Ft. Worth, Texas; Katherine Venable, Cadiz, Kentucky; Janell Rue, Natchitoches, Louisiana; Elizabeth Ann Jones, Trenton, Kentucky; a son-in-law, William Joseph Redditt, Sidon, MS.
Pallbearers will be Tim Burton, Vincent McDaniel, Keith Conner, Tommy Hunt of Columbus, Charles Venable of Pembroke, KY and David Allen of Orlando, FL. Special thanks to Dr. Henry Flautt and Jessica Lloyd.
It is requested that memorials be made to the Baptist Children's Village, P.O. Box 27,
Clinton, MS 39060-0027.