Evelyn Meredith Allen

Faith. Family. Friends. For 92 years, these touchstones shaped Evelyn Allen’s life. On June 30, 2020, Evelyn M. Allen passed away. Evelyn was born in Paris, Arkansas, to Sam and Pauline Meredith. After high school, she studied nursing as part of the World War II Cadet Nursing Corps, obtaining her R.N. degree from Baptist State Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her first nursing job was at the VA Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where she met her first husband, Virgil Acuff. For more than 25 years, she lived in Memphis, raising two daughters and working as an Emergency and Recovery Room nurse. In the later years of her nursing career, she taught Respiratory Therapy and Home Health. She married William (Bill) N. Allen in 1973. After he retired, they moved to a farm and were active members of Harmony Baptist Church in Stanton, Tennessee. Following Bill’s death, Evelyn moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, where she was a member of Jog Road Baptist Church and organized the daily prayer chain. In addition to nursing and her church service, Evelyn cared for many cats and dogs over the years. In her last months, when she was no longer able to care for her beloved cat Harry, she was comforted when the Pet Cottage found him a new home. Evelyn is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Beverly Acuff Momoi and Katsuhiko Momoi, of Mountain View, California; stepson Randy Allen of Memphis, Tennessee; and stepson Willie and his wife MaryAnne Allen, of Sandestin, Florida, as well as nieces, nephews, step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, William N. Allen, and her daughter, Barbara A. Hughes. Graveside service and burial will take place at Harmony Baptist Church in Stanton, Tennessee at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8. If you wish to celebrate her life, please consider a gift to Trustbridge Hospice Foundation, 5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida; the Pet Cottage, P.O.Box 8395, Jupiter, Florida; or Harmony Baptist Church, 3844 Eurekaton Road, Stanton, Tennessee 38069. The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the staff at Meridian at Lantana in Lantana, Florida, and to the doctors, nurses and caregivers at TrustBridge Hospice in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Arrangements and services are under the direction of the Lea & Simmons Funeral Home in Brownsville, TN.