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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 25, 2023 0:38:02 GMT -5
I suppose I should have mentioned this during the Zoom meeting yesterday. My mom died on Thursday afternoon.
Jo Ann Heald Allen 7/1/1931 - 4/20/2023
She was born in Alabama and died in Virginia, but wasn't a Southerner. She spent most of her life in New Jersey. Her parents were from Ohio; her dad was a chemical engineer who got his first post-grad job at a company in Anniston AL. The company went bust - it was the Depression - and he was hired by Colgate-Palmolive in Jersey City NJ, where he worked for 30 years. She grew up in Nutley NJ and became a nurse - an RN with a Bachelor's degree, which was rare at the time. On her first clinical rotation as a student nurse, she met an orderly who worked on the psych ward while studying at night. My parents enjoyed telling people that they'd met on the psych ward. She worked as a nurse until my brother was born and I was 3, then went back to work part-time as I was entering my teens. Part-time soon became full-time and then up the management ladder - she ended up being Director of Nursing at three different long-term geriatric care facilities in NJ. When she and my dad were in their sixties (i.e. the age I am now) they and my brother bought a derelict 1857 farmhouse in rural Virginia and turned it into a country inn/farm vacation place. It was like a bed-and-breakfast but they had to provide all three meals because there was no place to eat nearby. They ran Loblolly Plantation for ten years until the insurance premiums suddenly increased. They sold the big house and bought 20 acres nearby, where they put two manufactured homes, one for the folks and one for my brother. My dad died in 2011 and Mom spent most of the last dozen years watching old Westerns on TV.
I'll find some pictures to post.
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Post by foxley on Apr 25, 2023 1:16:57 GMT -5
I suppose I should have mentioned this during the Zoom meeting yesterday. My mom died on Thursday afternoon. Jo Ann Heald Allen 7/1/1931 - 4/20/2023 She was born in Alabama and died in Virginia, but wasn't a Southerner. She spent most of her life in New Jersey. Her parents were from Ohio; her dad was a chemical engineer who got his first post-grad job at a company in Anniston AL. The company went bust - it was the Depression - and he was hired by Colgate-Palmolive in Jersey City NJ, where he worked for 30 years. She grew up in Nutley NJ and became a nurse - an RN with a Bachelor's degree, which was rare at the time. On her first clinical rotation as a student nurse, she met an orderly who worked on the psych ward while studying at night. My parents enjoyed telling people that they'd met on the psych ward. She worked as a nurse until my brother was born and I was 3, then went back to work part-time as I was entering my teens. Part-time soon became full-time and then up the management ladder - she ended up being Director of Nursing at three different long-term geriatric care facilities in NJ. When she and my dad were in their sixties (i.e. the age I am now) they and my brother bought a derelict 1857 farmhouse in rural Virginia and turned it into a country inn/farm vacation place. It was like a bed-and-breakfast but they had to provide all three meals because there was no place to eat nearby. They ran Loblolly Plantation for ten years until the insurance premiums suddenly increased. They sold the big house and bought 20 acres nearby, where they put two manufactured homes, one for the folks and one for my brother. My dad died in 2011 and Mom spent most of the last dozen years watching old Westerns on TV. I'll find some pictures to post. My condolences to you and your family, Rob. I hope her passing was peaceful. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 25, 2023 1:41:08 GMT -5
My condolences to you and your family, Rob. I hope her passing was peaceful. I should have mentioned that. She lived in her own house to the end; on Friday the 14th she had trouble breathing and my brother took her to the hospital. They diagnosed pneumonia and gave her antibiotics which helped her breathing but she never regained full consciousness. She was just too weak by that point. Despite her medical background, she smoked cigarettes for 70 years. That took its toll. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 25, 2023 2:02:55 GMT -5
So sorry for your loss, Rob.
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Post by foxley on Apr 25, 2023 2:03:38 GMT -5
My condolences to you and your family, Rob. I hope her passing was peaceful. I should have mentioned that. She lived in her own house to the end; on Friday the 14th she had trouble breathing and my brother took her to the hospital. They diagnosed pneumonia and gave her antibiotics which helped her breathing but she never regained full consciousness. She was just too weak by that point. Despite her medical background, she smoked cigarettes for 70 years. That took its toll. All too common failing among health care professionals, I'm afraid. I am forever grateful that neither of my parents, despite growing up in the 30s and 40s ever smoked, which meant that none of us kids ever developed the habit.
Although some medicos definitely get it. When I used to work in health statistics, I attended the conference of TSANZ (the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand); i.e. people who specialize in respiratory health. It was the only event I've ever attended that would have had approx. 1000 people attending and absolutely no one outside smoking.
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 25, 2023 4:38:44 GMT -5
I suppose I should have mentioned this during the Zoom meeting yesterday. My mom died on Thursday afternoon. Jo Ann Heald Allen 7/1/1931 - 4/20/2023 She was born in Alabama and died in Virginia, but wasn't a Southerner. She spent most of her life in New Jersey. Her parents were from Ohio; her dad was a chemical engineer who got his first post-grad job at a company in Anniston AL. The company went bust - it was the Depression - and he was hired by Colgate-Palmolive in Jersey City NJ, where he worked for 30 years. She grew up in Nutley NJ and became a nurse - an RN with a Bachelor's degree, which was rare at the time. On her first clinical rotation as a student nurse, she met an orderly who worked on the psych ward while studying at night. My parents enjoyed telling people that they'd met on the psych ward. She worked as a nurse until my brother was born and I was 3, then went back to work part-time as I was entering my teens. Part-time soon became full-time and then up the management ladder - she ended up being Director of Nursing at three different long-term geriatric care facilities in NJ. When she and my dad were in their sixties (i.e. the age I am now) they and my brother bought a derelict 1857 farmhouse in rural Virginia and turned it into a country inn/farm vacation place. It was like a bed-and-breakfast but they had to provide all three meals because there was no place to eat nearby. They ran Loblolly Plantation for ten years until the insurance premiums suddenly increased. They sold the big house and bought 20 acres nearby, where they put two manufactured homes, one for the folks and one for my brother. My dad died in 2011 and Mom spent most of the last dozen years watching old Westerns on TV. I'll find some pictures to post. Sorry for your loss my friend. I lost my mom last year at about the same age. |
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Post by Calidore on Apr 25, 2023 9:15:04 GMT -5
Legend RIP: Harry Belafonte has passed at 96.
Very sorry for the loss of your mom, Rob.
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Post by commond on Apr 25, 2023 10:01:07 GMT -5
Crap.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2023 10:44:21 GMT -5
My deepest condolences Rob, and I'm so sad to hear of Mr. Belafonte's passing as well.
I just read that Ginnie Newhart, wife of Bob Newhart has also passed away, they were married for 60 years.
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Post by tartanphantom on Apr 25, 2023 11:20:42 GMT -5
Rob Allen , I'm very sorry to hear about this. My mom turned 86 this past Sunday, and I consider it a real blessing that she's still with us. I do my best to stay in touch with her and visit her whenever I can, as I know it won't last forever.
Hang on to the good memories. That's what sustains us and makes us stronger.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 25, 2023 11:22:16 GMT -5
My condolences Rob; I've been there.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2023 11:26:29 GMT -5
Sorry for your loss, Rob.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 25, 2023 13:17:17 GMT -5
My deepest condolences, Rob.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2023 13:20:45 GMT -5
Condolences to you and your family, Rob.
-M
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 25, 2023 13:58:38 GMT -5
I suppose I should have mentioned this during the Zoom meeting yesterday. My mom died on Thursday afternoon. Jo Ann Heald Allen 7/1/1931 - 4/20/2023 She was born in Alabama and died in Virginia, but wasn't a Southerner. She spent most of her life in New Jersey. Her parents were from Ohio; her dad was a chemical engineer who got his first post-grad job at a company in Anniston AL. The company went bust - it was the Depression - and he was hired by Colgate-Palmolive in Jersey City NJ, where he worked for 30 years. She grew up in Nutley NJ and became a nurse - an RN with a Bachelor's degree, which was rare at the time. On her first clinical rotation as a student nurse, she met an orderly who worked on the psych ward while studying at night. My parents enjoyed telling people that they'd met on the psych ward. She worked as a nurse until my brother was born and I was 3, then went back to work part-time as I was entering my teens. Part-time soon became full-time and then up the management ladder - she ended up being Director of Nursing at three different long-term geriatric care facilities in NJ. When she and my dad were in their sixties (i.e. the age I am now) they and my brother bought a derelict 1857 farmhouse in rural Virginia and turned it into a country inn/farm vacation place. It was like a bed-and-breakfast but they had to provide all three meals because there was no place to eat nearby. They ran Loblolly Plantation for ten years until the insurance premiums suddenly increased. They sold the big house and bought 20 acres nearby, where they put two manufactured homes, one for the folks and one for my brother. My dad died in 2011 and Mom spent most of the last dozen years watching old Westerns on TV. I'll find some pictures to post. What an extraordinary mother you had, Rob. Quite a run. I think we sometimes take for granted just how used to hard work people of the generation before you and me were. There can't be any more difficult way of making a living than running a B and B, and your parents did it in their 60s! Yikes. And she loved old Westerns? Another point in her favor, as if she needed one. I hope you have good memories of both of them to lift your spirits through a difficult time. On a Jersey note, two of my best friends --- identical twins -- lived on High Street in Nutley. And one more. That Colgate factory was a mainstay of Jersey City employment for over 150 years. Depending on what was being done in the factory on a particular day, that area downtown (and maybe beyond) smelled either of the perfumes that went into the soap or the fat it was made from. The factory, which dominated much of the neighborhood where many of my older relatives lived from the 1870s through the 1930s, is gone now, but the enormous Colgate clock remains on the site.  |
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