A Nebraska native, she was born on March 15, 1924 to Olga Marie Hansen and Otto William Ludwig Lukow. The oldest of seven children, she grew up working hard on the family farm, embracing the values of family & friends, a strong work ethic, honesty, helping one’s neighbors, and most of all, faith in Jesus Christ.
As a child, Willa attended the local country school with 8 grades, before finishing the rest of her education at Holstein Public School. She was involved with youth organizations such as the Walther League of the Lutheran church and 4-H through which she enjoyed presenting livestock at the county fair. Her love of working outdoors later translated to a love of gardening.
After graduating from Holstein schools, she attended Hastings College, where she obtained a degree in nursing. Willa considered joining the Navy, but ultimately stayed in Hastings working in hospital maternity ward, caring for newborns. In 1952, she headed west to California—the first of her three sisters to move there. After a couple years, a hospital job connection led Willa to begin working at a surgeon’s office in Palo Alto, California, where she met Richard Gordon Allen,MD, who would become her husband. She appreciated his caring way with patients and his sense of humor.
They settled in Los Altos Hills, California, where Willa stopped nursing to raise two daughters, Susan and Merrilee. She was also a caring mother for her stepchildren Lynn Allen and John Allen. Willa was an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, where she served as church secretary, treasurer for Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and her church’s first female elder. She enjoyed working outside, and loved to travel, including many road trips to visit her extended family across the country. On his retirement, Willa and Richard moved to Redding to be closer to her sisters. After Richard passed away in 1991, she lived in several areas in northern California before moving to Shoreline, Washington, following the 2018 fire in Paradise, CA. Throughout her life, even in adversity, she consistently counted the blessings of her life with a grateful heart.
She is survived by her daughters (and their spouses), Susan Talbot (Jim) and Merrilee Kettell (Clay); stepdaughter, Lynn Allen; daughter-in-law Margaret Allen; her grandchildren, Ben (Emily), Tom, Aimee (Lex) , Melissa (Mark), Sean, Elisa and Caitlyn; and great-grandchildren, Iris, Landon and Leonid; as well as her youngest siblings, Joy Borchers and Frank Lukow and many nieces, nephews and their children.
Willabelle will be laid to rest, alongside her husband Richard, at Redding Memorial Park Cemetery, following a streamed service from McDonald’s Chapel on Saturday, May 16 at 11am.
In Willabelle’s memory, please make donations to charities that support children or the underserved, or the Lutheran church.
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