Lucreta Ann Allen

Lucreta Ann (Loveless) Allen passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on September 29, 2024 in Carmel, Indiana. Lucreta was born on June 29, 1940 in Indianapolis to Marion (Kelly) and Hollis Loveless. Growing up, Lucreta loved spending time with her sister Fern, who was 11 years older than her, and whom she adored. Lucreta would often third-wheel Fern’s dates with her husband John, and Fern and John rarely got to go to a drive-in movie or out to dinner without Lucreta tagging along. Lucreta also had a great affection for animals, which started with her first cat, Spot, whom she would push around town in a baby stroller holding a cracker in in her paws. At the age of 14, Lucreta was gifted her first dachshund, Lisa, whom she adored. From that point onward, Lucreta never met a cat or dog that she didn’t fall in love with, and, as long as she lived, Lucreta shared her home with poodles, dachshunds, Himalayan cats, and Ragdolls. Growing up, Lucreta also had a great love for reading and writing. Fern, who was a high school English teacher, would pass classic stories, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, down to young Lucreta to read, and Lucreta couldn’t get enough. In high school, Lucreta was appointed the editor-in-chief of her Mooresville High School newspaper, and, when it came time to enroll at Hanover College, Lucreta pursued a degree in teaching so that she could become a reading teacher like her sister Fern, her dream job.

It was at Hanover, in 1958, her freshman year, that Lucreta met Lawrence (Larry) Allen, a senior who was studying to become a doctor. While she liked Larry as soon as she met him, her social calendar was full of Phi Mu dances and other commitments, and he had to wait three weeks for her schedule to free up for their first date. They hit it off instantly, and later that year she accompanied him to California to meet his family, and he would make the trip to Indianapolis to meet hers. After her freshman year, Lucreta transferred to Butler University to finish her studies and be close to Larry while he was in medical school in Indianapolis. Lucreta and Larry were married in 1960, and the couple moved to Mooresville to be near Lucreta’s parents. The following year, Lucreta completed her bachelors’ degree -- in only three years -- and began teaching at Newton Elementary School.

In 1963, Lucreta’s first son Brad was born. Lucreta continued teaching elementary school and especially loved teaching kindergarten classes. In 1965, Lucreta’s daughter Kerrie was born several weeks premature. Larry rushed home from his medical fellowship in Canada to meet his new daughter. Brad and Kerrie would often sneak out early in the morning to run to Lucreta’s parents’ house, which was just a few houses down, for treats—much to Lucreta’s frustration. In 1968, Lucreta’s son Jeffrey was born. Lucreta continued teaching, though now as a substitute teacher rather than full-time, so that she could spend more time with her family. In 1968, the family moved to Anderson, Indiana, where they would spend the next 20 years. Lucreta was active in the community, volunteering as a Den Mother for Brad’s Cub Scouts troop, and hosting meetings for Young Life when Jeff was a member. Lucreta was a member of the Anderson Art Club and loved hosting elaborate teas and art lectures for members. She had a love for gourmet cooking and crafting and Art Club provided a wonderful community for her to share this love. Family traditions were also very important to Lucreta. She and her sister Fern would spend all day cooking and baking beautiful pies in preparation for Thanksgiving. The night before Christmas, Lucreta and her family and Fern, John, and their son, John III (whom Lucreta loved like her own son), would all spend the night together telling stories and baking Christmas cookies and candies. They would eat a big pot of chili and go out and look at Christmas lights together to round-off the night. Lucreta also loved spending weekends at the family’s cabin in Brown County and having fish fries using the fish that her kids and nephew, John III, would catch from their stocked pond.

In 1979, Lucreta began taking classes at Ball State University with her best friend, Joan Campbell, to obtain her Master’s degree in reading. She graduated in 1981, and took on a new job working closely with children who struggled to read. In 1986, Lucreta and Larry divorced and Lucreta moved to Fishers to be closer to her kids. In her free time, Lucreta picked up ballroom dancing and traveled across the U.S. selling portraits with Olan Mills. Ever devoted to her family, Lucreta later moved back to her childhood home in Mooresville to care for her father, Hollis, when he became ill.

In 1996, Lucreta became a grandmother with the birth of her first grandchild, Cassandra (Cassie). Unable to pronounce “nanny”, Cassie called Lucreta “Nini” and the name stuck. Cassie loved to have sleepovers at her Nini’s house and to have “popcorn parties” where they would stay up late watching old movies. When Cassie’s brother Bryce was born in 1998, Bryce would spend the night with Lucreta watching movies, and, in the morning, they would sit together at Lucreta’s dining room table while she arranged tile letters teaching Bryce how to read. In 2001, Lucreta’s grandchildren Samuel (Sam), Abby, and Scot were born. Lucreta was absolutely enamored and couldn’t get enough time with them. Lucreta moved to Carmel, Indiana, and would pick Sam up from kindergarten and take him out to lunch each day. It didn’t matter what lunch option Lucreta proposed, Sam always wanted something different, and Lucreta would happily oblige. As her grandchildren grew older, Lucreta loved when Abby would spend special weekends with her, and they would spend all day baking cookies and making chicken and noodle soup. Scot remembers coming to visit and making persimmon pudding using Nini’s old recipes that called for things like butter the size of an egg. In 2004, Lucreta’s grandson John (Jack) was born. Lucreta loved treating Jack to tenderloin sandwiches, and having long philosophical discussions with him as he got older. In 2008, Nini’s last grandchild Daniel (Dan) was born. Lucreta and Dan would sit for hours reading books together (Diary of a Worm and The Butterfly were particular favorites) and having popcorn parties during sleepovers. Some of Lucreta’s most cherished memories were summer barbecues at her house with “all of the cousins” together and plenty of German brats and lemon icebox cake to pass around.

Lucreta was incredibly proud of her family and always made time to attend sporting events, plays, art shows, and concerts. When she learned that her kids or grandkids were coming back into town, she would clear her calendar so that she would be free at a moment’s notice. She was the rare sort of person who would leap at the chance to just spend time with a loved one. She also made sure that everyone in the family kept up to date with what everyone else was up to; in this sense, she was a true family matriarch. Finally, Lucreta always had a wonderful sense of fun about her. She loved to dance the foxtrot in her living room, make fancy cocktails (especially with Bailey’s Irish Cream), and go on adventures (she loved to tour Europe). She was warm, bubbly, and genuinely interested in everyone that she met. Her family was often frustrated because she would have a repairman out to fix something, and instead of remembering what was wrong with the furnace, she would instead tell you all about the repairman and his family and interests. She was a social butterfly in every sense of the term.

Most of all, Lucreta will be remembered for her eternal optimism and focus on the goodness in everyone around her. Lucreta never had a bad word to say about anyone, and always lived by the mantra that one should never hold a grudge. Lucreta was beloved by her family and community and will be dearly missed by us all. Lucreta is preceded in death by her parents Hollis and Marion Loveless, sister Fern Serak, and former husband Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Allen, who passed in July 2024. Lucreta is survived by her sons Bradley (Nancy) Allen and Jeffrey (Kerri) Allen, daughter Kerrie (John) Brown, and nephew John (Laurie) Serak III. She is survived by her grandchildren Cassie (fiancé Koen) Allen, Bryce Allen, Sam Allen, Abby Allen, Scot Brown, Jack Brown, and Dan Brown. A memorial service will be held at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis on October 6, with visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a service from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can made to your local Humane Society in Lucreta’s memory.