Obituary of William Howard Allen

William Howard Allen was born October 30, 1919 in Columbus, Ohio to Will and Lela (Allen) Allen. His family moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1926 where they were surrounded by many cousins and family members. William joined the United States Army in 1940 and served throughout Europe. He earned an honorable discharge in 1945. William married Ottie Faye Mills on June 24, 1943 in Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1946 they moved to Detroit, Michigan and raised six children, Fritzic Von Allen Sr., Shelia Diane Allen, Nathan Hale Allen, William Howard Allen Jr. (Billy), Brenda Joyce Allen, and Patricia Ann Allen. William and his family remained in Detroit until 1963 when the family relocated to Richmond, California. William had many jobs throughout his life that included: employment with the City of Detroit in the Forestry Department, employment as a postman with the United States Postal Service located in Richmond, teaching for the Juvenile Justice Systems in Contra Costa and Sacramento County, and substitute teaching in the Elk Grove and Sacramento Unified School Districts. William earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California where he studied public administration. A true believer in education, William inspired his family to have strong family values and channeled high expectations for success to his children. Throughout William's life he remained an avid reader, enjoyed winning poker games and had a fascination for religion: Catholicism, Muslim religion, and the Rosicrucian ideology. William enjoyed hunting and fishing. While living in Detroit he belonged to bridge and poker clubs and played baseball. Every Sunday William took his family to the park, taught them how to ice skate on the local pond and expected everyone to complete homework assignments during the week. William had an opportunity to travel all over the world. His travels included visiting cities in Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Ghana, Mexico, Canada, and Jamaica. He enjoyed traveling and talking to others about his children. William Howard Allen is preceded in death by his parents, Will and Lela Allen (Carlton, GA), and two sons, Fritzic Allen Sr. and William (Billy) Allen Jr. He is survived by his wife, Ottie Faye Allen , of 68 years; children Shelia Gibson (Sherman) of Elk Grove; Nathan Allen, M.D. of Sacramento; Brenda Allen-Kyle of Teaneck, NJ; and Patricia Allen-Hunter of Sacramento; twelve grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and a host of cousins and friends. Memorial service will be Wednesday, November 9, 201l at 12:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 8720 Florin Road, Sacramento, California. In lieu of flowers, if you prefer, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society . William will be interred at the Sacramento Valley VA National Cemetery - Dixon, California at a later date.