DOROTHY ALLAN

DOROTHY P. ALLAN, age 104, died peacefully in her sleep, attended by family, in the early morning hours of May 19, 2019 at her residence at Evergreen Manor in Oshkosh WI.  Dorothy was born in 1914 in Bear Creek WI.  Daughter of August Pinkowski and Anna Raisler Pinkowski, she survived her six siblings.  In 1939, Dorothy married Vernon Hanson (1908-1966) with whom she had two children.  Following Vern's death, in 1968 Dorothy married Larry Allan, a family friend and widower with four children, with whom she shared 35 years of marriage until Larry's death in 2003.  All told, these 6 children have produced a family tree consisting of 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.  Dorothy was “Grandma” to them all.

An outstanding student at Clintonville High School, Dorothy was part of the State Champion Debate Team of 1932.  She argued their winning case before a panel seated in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court chambers.  Family finances and the Depression put college out of reach for Dorothy, but she continued her intellectual pursuits through the Sarah Doty Study Club, various bridge clubs and book clubs (including Neenah's YTNF -- Yesterday Today and Forever -- Club in which she was the only non-college grad), and as a Neenah middle school assistant librarian.

Dorothy and Vern met at Kimberly-Clark Paper Company where she was a payroll clerk and he was an engineer.  In accord with Depression protocols, as soon as Dorothy got married she was out of a job.  Vern's work took the young family to Terrace Bay, Ontario for a few years in the late 1940's and early 1950s, then back to Neenah where Dorothy applied her significant intelligence, energy and sense of civic responsibility to volunteer work for the Red Cross, League of Women Voters, First United Methodist Church, and Theda Clark Hospital.  And she loved to dance.

Dorothy and Larry met at the First United Methodist Church in Neenah.  After they married in 1968, Dorothy helped raise Larry's two teenage sons.  Once the sons left home the couple downsized to a smaller home nearby where they lived until moving to Evergreen Manor in Oshkosh.  Dorothy and Larry shared a love of family, church, their large garden, Neenah High School sporting events, and the Green Bay Packers as well as travel and lifelong learning.  In addition to their honeymoon trip to Europe, the couple took an annual winter trip to Florida, many Elderhostel travel tours, and twice drove to Alaska.

After she and Larry moved into Evergreen Manor in 1997, Dorothy sang in the Evergreen Choir and continued to grace any available dance floor.  Always beautifully coiffed and dressed, she made many friends over her life-time, touching them all with her thoughtfulness, wit, and love of fun.  Friends and family alike describe her as “the embodiment of grace”, “kindness itself”, and “an inspiration”. 

Dorothy is survived by her:

• son David Hanson, his wife Linda Bochert, their son Scott Hanson and daughter Sarah Hamer (husband Burt Hamer) and Dave's sons Matt Hanson (wife Sophie, son Paul), Brian Hanson (wife Leah, sons Otis and Colton, daughter Noela), and daughter Maja (daughter Kirsten and son Clay) and their mother Diana Hanson;
  
  
• daughter Karen Arterberry (husband Dan Arterberry, deceased Jan. 2014);
  
  
• step-daughters Barbara Diercks, her husband David and their sons Dean Diercks (wife Sarah, son Sawyer, daughter Charlotte) and Peter Diercks (wife Anne, daughter Clara, son Leo); and Patricia Kunz, her husband Michael and their daughter Kelly Bertram (sons Saoirse and Gus, daughters Madeline, Gretel and Pepper) and son Josh Kunz (wife Molly and daughter Hazel); and
  

• step-sons Larry Allan Jr., his wife LaVon and their sons Zach Allan and Nich Allan (wife Lizzy Dewald, sons Lucas, Griffin and Sam, daughter Coraline); and James Allan (daughter Alley Allan and granddaughter Layla).
  
  

Dorothy was preceded in death by her siblings Laone Pinkowsky Sodolski, Lloyd Pinkowsky, Erwin Pinkowsky, John Pinkowsky, Harold Pinkowsky and Marilyn Pinkowsky.

The family sends special thanks to the compassionate and caring personnel at Evergreen Manor and Aurora at Home Hospice Health Care. 

A memorial celebration of Dorothy's life will be held at Evergreen Manor on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 1:30 p.m., immediately followed by a Visitation and Reception. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Evergreen Foundation, 1130 N. Westfield St. Oshkosh, WI 54902, and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, 2911 W. Evergreen Drive, Appleton WI 54913.