Gladys Marie Allen, 107, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, at
Redbud Village in Plainville, KS. She was born on September 12, 1913, in
Plainville, to Wallace and Mae Anna (Cronin) Phillips. On April 23,
1938, in Plainville she married her dance partner and best friend Thomas
C. Allen, a printer and linotype operator at The Plainville Times. They
rode a train through dust storms to honeymoon in Colorado. Tom and
Gladys were married 63 years before he died on Nov. 5, 2001.
Growing up, she learned to cut hair at her dad’s barber shop in
Tipton, KS. She cherished a family trip to Estes Park, Colo., and was a
whiz in physics at St. Boniface High School, Tipton. As a mom, she
enjoyed sewing all the clothes for her family and her daughters’
Barbies, as well as hand-making quilts for everyone. She closely
followed the travels and adventures of her five children. She was very
active with Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Plainville, and enjoyed her
friendships with the ladies in the Daughters of Isabella, the Guild, and
her quilting circle. Gladys loved flowers and especially pansies and
lilacs. She liked root beer floats, browsing for hours for fabric and
patterns, laughing, and caring for her grandchildren. She made the best
lemon merengue pie of anybody. Three of her favorite things to say were
“Will you stay for supper?” “It’s so good to see you” and “Let’s don’t
and say we did.”
Besides her husband, Tommy, she was preceded in death by her
daughter, Mary E. Allen; her son-in-law, John M. Edmonds; a
great-granddaughter, Caroline E. Smith; her brother and sister-in-law,
Harry D. and Louise (Gardner) Phillips; and her sister and
brother-in-law, Doris M. and Harlan Gilbert.
Survivors include two daughters, Sister Marcia Allen, Concordia; and
Margaret Allen, Hays; and two sons, Michael Allen and wife, Paula,
Douglas, Ga.; and John Allen and wife, June Knittel, Hays; nine
grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on September 11, 2021, at
10:30 AM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Plainville with inurnment to
follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Sacred Heart Catholic Church and may be
sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd St.,
Plainville, KS 67601.