Maxine LaVonne Allgood

She was born June 5, 1923 on a farm northeast of Marysville, Kansas to Clarence C. and Alta E. (Balderson) Reed. Before kindergarten, Maxine, her brother Bill, and her parents moved into town. She attended kindergarten through third grade in town and attended the country school for fourth and fifth grades, as her family had moved in with her Grandma Balderson during the Great Depression. The rest of her school years were spent back in town and she graduated from Marysville High School 1941, where she was a cheerleader.

Maxine was a bookkeeper and cashier at the Liberty Theater until 1943, when she married Clarence Wilbur “Sparky” Sparks. While first married, Sparky and Maxine lived at the Army base Sparky was stationed at in New Orleans, Louisiana during World War II. Once back in Marysville, Maxine and Sparky welcomed a daughter, Stephany in 1944. They moved to Wisconsin for a short time and when they returned to Marysville, again, they welcomed their second daughter, Patti, in 1948. As the girls grew up, Maxine owned and operated Maxine’s Clothes Closet. She was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Atheneum, and the Hi Lo Bridge Club.

Sparky passed away in 1961, which led Maxine to sell her shop and move to Lincoln, Nebraska. There, she was a buyer for Hovland-Swanson Clothing Store. She enjoyed her many buying trips to New York City. She organized and presided over the Desk Set; a group for fashion oriented business women and was a member of the Altrusa Club, an international group for women in all fields of business and education. In 1973, she married Richard Allgood. They lived in the Bahamas and Jamaica, before building a home in Bushnell, Florida. Maxine worked for Otto’s Clothing Store in Brooksville, Florida. Richard passed away in 1989, and Maxine remained a resident of Florida for several years. For the last 20 years, she split time with her daughters, Stephany in Illinois and Patti in Florida.

She will be welcomed in Heaven by her parents, Clarence and Alta Reed; brother, Wilbur Reed; her husbands, Clarence Sparks and Richard Allgood; and her granddaughter, Kelly Cash.

Surviving are two daughters, Stephany “Stevie” (Robert) Taphorn of Pekin and Patti (Bill Britton) Henderson of Pensacola, Florida; her grandchildren, Matt (Kelly) Taphorn of Morton, Pat (Lisa) Taphorn of Pekin, Pam (Jeff) Highfill of Peoria, Abby (Donny) Sevier of Pekin, Autumn Henderson of Pensacola, Florida, and Bill Cash (husband of the late Kelly Cash) of Pekin; twenty-six great-grandchildren, Amanda, Megan, Lauren, Austin, Ben, Maddy, Adam, Emma, Daniel, Drake, Karson, Chase, Drew, Nathan, Carter, Jenna, Justin, Haley, Halston, Hunter, Tally, Brady, Gracy, Lainy, Korry, and Jordan; and twenty-one great-great-grandchildren, Evan, Tucker, Avery, Clare, Oliver, Perry, Loey, Noah, Finn, Theo, Beckam, Ada, Luke, Grant, Molly, Kate, Kainen, Jairus, Eli, Selah, and Maisie.

Maxine attended First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, Florida and later First United Methodist Church in Pekin.

Maxine enjoyed anything with golf, playing and watching. She had a hole-in-one at the Pine Ridge Golf Course in Florida in 1996. She was a fan of Tiger Woods. She also enjoyed crocheting, dancing, and watching soap operas on television.

Her memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Friday, August 11, 2023 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Father James Pankiewicz will officiate. There will be no visitation. Inurnment will be at Marysville Cemetery in Marysville, Kansas at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to METAvivor Breast Cancer Research and Support, 1783 Forest Drive, #184, Annapolis, Maryland 21401 or metavivor.org.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com