Susan Carolyn Jarman Allen

Born in a small rural town in North Carolina in 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression, Carolyn Allen lived through the major events of most of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her family were farmers but also owned the only General Store in the area. Through this prism she saw what effects the Depression had on those around her which taught her the value of a dollar and of hard work. During WWII she saw family and friends marching off to war with some never returning home. This, along with the death of her own father in her teens, taught her how fragile life can be.

Determined to create a full life, Mrs. Allen left home and moved to Raleigh where she married and gave birth to her first born daughter. Though the marriage ended, she resolved to provide a good life for herself and her daughter. Mrs. Allen had a love for the beauty and logic of numbers and with a strong will became a professional bookkeeper. While working hard to provide for herself and her child, she, as a form of relaxation, decided to learn ballroom dancing and there met the man, Willard Allen, who became her lifelong partner both on and off the dance floor. Together they travelled the width of the country finally bringing their growing little family to settle in Atlanta, Georgia in 1964. She worked hard to try to create as perfect a life for her family as she could, and with her strong will, balanced working and homemaking. Holidays were when Mrs. Allen especially shined as she wanted to create wonderful memories for her family to last a lifetime. Her fruitcake won over many friends over the years along with her baking and other holiday tradition leaving her family precious moments of nostalgia forever.

She loved her family above all else, but she also loved working, mathematics, and had a deeply soft spot for animals. In her later life, she enjoyed doing for her neighbors, taking over small gifts and helping out when she could. But the light of her life has been her beautiful granddaughter who brought her so much pleasure up to her last day. Mrs. Allen died of natural causes on December 1, 2020, 3 days after her husband of 64 years. She is survived by three loving children, one beautiful granddaughter, extended family and a host of friends who will remember her impish smile, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes, and her generously warm heart.