Frances Ann Allen
1915 - 2016
Obituary
Dr. Frances Ann Allen passed away
Sunday (February 28, 2016) at the age of 100. She was born on June
21, 1915 in Doniphan, Missouri, to Charles F. and Hope (Harmon)
Allen. She was valedictorian of her senior class at Doniphan High
School. Following graduation from Southeast Missouri State Teachers
College in 1937, she taught history and physical education at
Normandy High School in St. Louis, Missouri before entering the
University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1939. After graduating in
1943, she served an internship at the University of Iowa Hospital in
Iowa City, Iowa.
Upon completing the internship, she was
employed as a general practitioner by Bethel Clinic in Newton, where
her parents and younger brother were living. Dr. Allen began her
practice at a time when many of Newton's male doctors were in the
armed services, thus filling a void in the community. After World War
II, she and other Newton doctors were kept busy as they delivered
members of the baby boom generation.
After practicing for nine years, she
returned to KU Medical School in 1953 for a residency in Internal
Medicine. This three-year program was well-suited to her intellectual
curiosity. She gained experience in the sub-specialties of
gastroenterology and nuclear medicine. Dr. Allen participated in
research involving the radioactive isotope of red blood cell survival
time in liver disease. This research was published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association. She also received extensive
training under Dr. E. Grey Dimond, a renowned cardiologist. For
several months, she was responsible for reading all of the EKGs for
the entire KU Medical Center. She proof-read Dr. Dimond's book on the
subject. He also sent her to various universities for additional
training in cardiology, hematology and pulmonary medicine.
Following her return to Newton, she was
named chairman of the Medical Department of Bethel Deaconess
Hospital. She conducted clinical trials for L-DOPA, a new medication
for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease, earned recognition as a
leader in research on the treatment of this disease, and authored a
number of publications and papers on the subject. Because of her
efforts, Newton became the second city in the United States to have
defibrillators available for ambulance personnel.
Dr. Allen retired in 1978 at the age of
62 when her increasing deafness made it difficult for her to continue
her practice. Later that summer, she traveled to Taiwan to train
medical students. Upon her return to Newton, she soon found a new
interest in painting and attended workshops to improve her skills.
When members of the Newton Art Association had no place to meet, she
was instrumental in obtaining a rent-free building that formerly had
been a carriage factory. Thus was born the Carriage Factory Art
Gallery. Dr. Allen was a dedicated fund-raiser for the organization.
When enough funds were available, the association undertook a
substantial renovation of the building in 1993.
She received numerous honors and awards
throughout her life. They included receiving one of Newton's Woman of
the Year awards in 1959. In 1976, she received the Alumni Merit Award
from Southeast Missouri State University. In 1983, she was among
eleven Alumni Merit Award recipients who were recognized for their
contributions to science at the dedication of the university's new
science building. Her many contributions to Newton's medical and art
communities were celebrated in 2010 with "A Night to Remember"
sponsored by the Newton Art Association and Newton Medical Center.
Appropriately, the event was held in the Carriage Factory Art
Gallery.
She also held memberships in PEO, AG
Chapter and Junior Themium.
Throughout her years in practice and
far into retirement, Dr. Allen enjoyed traveling across the United
States and around the world. She believed that travel broadened the
mind and made a person a better world citizen. Her frequent travel
companions included Tom and Norma Walker, Cecilia Perry, Gladys
Brewer, and her cousins, Ruth Evans and Wanda Hungerford. She also
enjoyed fishing, watching KU basketball, and was an avid reader.
Dr. Allen was preceded in death by her
parents; her sister, Ruth Elizabeth Allen McNail; brothers, Charles
Preston Allen and James Harmon Allen; and niece, Patricia Ann Allen.
Survivors include her nephews, James H.
Allen, Jr. (Betty) of Auburn, Kansas and Richard F. Allen (Sharon) of
Newton; nieces, Nancy Ruth Graber (John) of Newton, Sally June Allen
(Tom) of Wichita, and Susan Allen Kline (Steve) of Fort Worth, Texas;
ten great-nieces and nephews, and ten great-great-nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Dr. Allen's life will
be 10:30 a.m. Saturday (March 12, 2016) at First Presbyterian Church
in Newton with The Reverend Deborah Hollifield presiding. A gathering
with family will follow the service in the church fellowship hall. A
private interment will be held prior to the memorial service at
Greenwood Cemetery in Newton.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests
that contributions be made to the Carriage Factory Art Gallery, the
Smile Train, or an educational charity of choice in care of Petersen
Funeral Home.