Doris P. Allen

Doris Pinney Allen, 96, of Columbia, Missouri passed away on April 17, 2016. A private service will be held at Memorial Funeral Home in Columbia. Private burial services will be held at Columbia City Cemetery. It was November of 1919 when Horace Sylvester (H.S.) Pinney and Iva Lee Pinney welcomed Iva Doris Pinney, their first of four children, into Bosworth, Missouri and the world. “Iva” never stuck and she was known throughout her life as Doris. She grew up in a prosperous farm area of northwest Missouri where her parents were farmers and community leaders. To the end she had wonderful memories of “cutting” cattle on a horse that knew more about it than she and working with two mules -- “Old Bud” and “Old Maud.” She was educated in a one-room school through high school before heading off to college at William Woods. She spent time there and at the University of Missouri but critical to the rest of her life was time spent at Northeast Missouri State Teachers’ College (now Truman State University) in Kirksville. It was there that she met Walker Allen while on a double date. It was almost a year later when they re-connected and began dating seriously. On August 6, 1940 they were married at Doris’s home. Despite the fact that she had spent her last $5 to have her fur coat cleaned and was literally penniless, that began what would be a marriage lasting 69 years. The marriage saw separation from war, the building of a family, an active and diverse community life and retirement years filled with travels, grandchildren, gardening and being a part of the Columbia and St. Pete Beach, Florida communities. After World War II, Doris and Walker settled in Ottumwa, Iowa and then within a few years they moved to Marshalltown, Iowa. She was active in church, school and community organizations there until moving to Columbia, Missouri in 1969 where she continued that work, including leadership roles in the Fortnightly Club and various other community and church organizations. On the family front, in 1948 William D “W.D.” was born and in 1953 Pinney Lee followed to complete the family. Walker and Doris split their time between Columbia and St. Pete Beach, Florida in their retirement years. At home in Columbia they could enjoy spending time with W.D. and daughter-in-law Mellodie as well as enjoying all the activities the University provided. They also spent several weeks traveling every year – enjoying hundreds of places across the globe, from Kenya to Russia, from Australia to Peru, from China to Greece, and always finding an excuse to go back to England. Atlanta was conveniently located on the road to St. Pete Beach and they stopped to enjoy Pinney’s growing family—son-in-law Buddy and granddaughters Linden (now of LA) and Doria (now of NYC) – often. In Florida they enjoyed a sweeping view of the Gulf of Mexico and built a network of friends there over more than 20 years. Walker passed away in March, 2009 and Doris remained in Columbia, living her last years at The Neighborhoods at Tiger Place where she had many friends. Doris leaves a family that misses her greatly but celebrates the life of a woman who meant much to all of them and will always be in their hearts. In addition to immediate family, Doris is survived by her sister, Ruth Horst, of Texas. Walker and Doris early in their professional lives worked as teachers and always had a passion for education. They honored teachers at Truman State University with the establishment of the Walker and Doris Allen Teacher Excellence Fund providing $10,000 awards to outstanding teachers based on faculty, administration and student evaluations - and established scholarships in honor of their parents at Truman and at the University of Missouri. For those wishing to honor Doris, the family suggests that in lieu of flowers a memorial gift be made to the University of Missouri, directed to the Horace and Iva Lee Pinney Scholarship Fund (Office of Gift Planning and Endowments, 302 Reynolds Alumni Center, Columbia, MO 65211).