Obituary of Bessie Allen

Bessie Gladys Sutton Allen was born on January 16, 1928 in Spokane, WA to Gladys and Levi Sutton and passed away in her home on August 11, 2017 where she lived all of her 89 years.  She was preceded in death by her parents, loving husband of 57 yrs, Amos Perry Allen, daughter Elizabeth Jane Allen Fitzgerald, son Floyd Gale Allen, baby Allen, sister & brother-in-law Mary (Sutton) & Glenn McFarland, & granddaughter Megan Christina Allen. She is survived by her son, Perry Levi (Sue) Allen, Byron Sutton (Karyn) Allen, son-in-law Mike (Jane) Fitzgerald, grandchildren Anthony Justin Allen, Amanda Renee Allen (Kahel) Smith, Heidi Lee Borgens, Anna Marie Borgens (Sean) Kerr, Levi Don Allen, Kelly, Nick, Brenda Fitzgerald, great grandchildren Khalissi Anagail& Dhazen Obsidien Smith, Brennan Isaac, Noah Ellwood, Oliver Shepherd and Grace Mae  Kerr. Bessie grew up on the Sutton family farm and attended school in Washtucna.  After Bessie graduated from Washtucna High School she attended Washington State College. She met Amos before WWII when he moved out here and started working for Mary Richter and then Levi Sutton. Amos enlisted after Pearl Harbor and Bessie wrote to him throughout his years in the navy. They got married on Nov 9, 1947 and spent the rest of their lives farming & raising their family on the Sutton family farm which became the Allen family farm. Bessie’s love for cooking started at an early age. When she was about 12 she started cooking for harvest which lasted about 60 years and then Karyn joined her in the kitchen for a couple of harvests. She then turned the job over when she knew it was in good hands. She had a servant’s heart and was always involved in the lives of her children. She was a Cub Scout leader, a Girl Scout leader and lifetime member, Sunday school teacher & a teacher’s aide at the grade school. She belonged to the Washtucna Community Church, Progressive Club, & was a 73 yr member of Rimrock Grange. Bessie loved life to the fullest! She had many talents and interests that kept her busy throughout her lifetime. From an early age, cats & dogs were always part of her life whether live ones or what ended up being a huge collection of over 200 cats in a variety of mediums, i.e. ceramic, porcelain, needlepoint, stuffed, etc. She was such a creative person. She loved doing all kinds of crafts from painting, needlepoint, cross-stitch & knitting. She decorated much of her home with her handy work. Bessie also had a green thumb. She could make any indoor or outdoor plant grow. Bessie was always propagating some house plant to increase her indoor jungle. She was an avid gardener with roses being her favorite. She always had a vegetable garden. She canned and froze what she could so she could feed her family through the long hard winter months. But most of all Bessie was a child of God. Her faith sustained her throughout her life up until the very end. Bessie’s memorial service will be Oct 14 at 1pm at the Washtucna Community Church followed by a potluck at Rimrock Grange hall. Memorial donations suggestions are Washtucna Community Church, Rimrock Grange Hall or Assured Home Health & Hospice in Moses Lake.