Elaine A. Higgins

Melva Elaine Allen went to be with her Lord and Savior Thursday, April 10, 2025. She was born in Oneonta, Alabama on July 6, 1934. She worked with the federal government for many years, including the Tuscaloosa VA Department of Veterans Affairs before she retired. She was a trailblazer by filing and winning the very first age discrimination lawsuit in the State of Alabama. She was also active in several civic organizations located in Tuscaloosa.

The funeral will be held at Memory Chapel Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 2:00 PM, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The service will follow at 2:00 PM.

Elaine is preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edwin Allen and Mary Magdeline Elizabeth Shaddix Allen; brother, Charles Anthony Allen; and sister, Iva June Allen Blakely.

She is survived by her son, William Jefferson Pinegar III, and his wife, Lydia Kathryn Pinegar; three grandchildren, Jordan Tyler Pinegar, Connor Riggs Pinegar and his wife, Ashtin Pinegar; and Bailey Chandler Holmes and her husband, Andrew Wilson Holmes; three great-grandchildren, Riggs Pinegar, Carter Ann Holmes, and Wright Pinegar.

Connor Pinegar, Andrew Holmes, Phil Allen, Rick Blakely, Andy Weldon, and Joshua Connell will serve as pallbearers.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to alz.org for alzheimer's / dementia research.