Esther Pauline Allen

Esther Pauline Allen, age 88, resident of Fort Scott, Kan., died late Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Community Hospice of Texas, in Burleson, Texas. She had suffered a stroke while visiting family in Texas. She was born July 19, 1918, in Hatfield, Mo., the daughter of Charles T. Gibson and Bessie Mae Pottorff Gibson. She married Harold O. Allen on July 3, 1936, in Nevada, Mo. He preceded her in death on March 16, 1981.

The couple lived in Richards, Mo., for 18 years following marriage. They moved to Fort Scott in 1954. Esther was a member of the Community Christian Church.

Survivors include four sons, Charles Allen, Harold "Pete" Allen, and Tommy Allen, all of Cleburne, Texas, and Jerry Wayne Allen, Fort Scott; one daughter, Barbara Wheeler, Cleburne, Texas; and one sister, Arlene Marshall, Shenandoah, Iowa. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by six brothers, three sisters, and a daughter, Bonnie Hill.

The Rev. Leon Weece will conduct funeral services at 10 a.m., Tuesday, in the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in Memory Gardens Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Monday at the funeral home.

Services are under the direction of Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kan. 66701.