John Allen
John Henry Allen, 83, Luverne, died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
A memorial service was Monday, Oct. 21, at the First Baptist Church in Luverne. Burial with full military honors followed at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.
John Allen was born June 28, 1936, to Edwin and Dorothy (Morgan) Allen in Houston, Texas, where he was raised and attended school. He enlisted into the Navy in 1954. He served as a boiler tender on the USS Hamner based out of San Diego, California. He was honorably discharged in 1958 and returned to La Port, Texas. In 1959 he moved to Houma, Louisiana, where he worked on oil rigs as a “roughneck”. In 1984 he moved to Newnan, Georgia, where he was employed at Southern Foundary Recycling as a crane operator.
He married Virginia Wharton in 1989 at the Tri-County Baptist Church in Senoia, Georgia. They lived in Newnan where John continued work as a crane operator until 1997 and then as a custodian at Newnan High School from 1997 to 2008. The couple moved to the Centennial Apartments in Luverne, Virginia’s childhood home, in 2008. In August 2016 John became a resident at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne. Virginia died on Oct. 5, 2018.
John was a member of the First Baptist Church in Luverne where he frequently served as an usher. He enjoyed playing SkipBo, woodworking, and had a love of fishing.
John is survived by his children, Donna (Dewayne) Curney of Abeita Springs, Louisiana, Sheila Cavalier of Abeita Springs, and Brent (Stacey) Allen of Napoleanville, Louisiana; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; two brothers, Edwin (Becky) Allen of Deep Park, Texas, and William (Margaret) Allen of Cleaveland, Texas; sister-in-law Betty of Denver, Colorado; and brother-in-law Robert Wharton of Luverne.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia; son-in-law Anthony “T-Boy” Cavalier; his parents; and a brother, James Allen.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, www.hartquistfuneral.com.
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