Gloria Elaine (Bowers) Allen

Gloria Elaine (Bowers) Allen of Battle Creek, MI

Gloria, age 89, died Tuesday afternoon, September 22, 2020 at Bronson Battle Creek Hospital.

Gloria was the daughter of Philip and Alice (Rocho) Bowers. She was born in Marshall, MI on September 15, 1931. She was a long-time area resident and a 1949 graduate of Marshall High School.

Gloria was united in marriage to Wendell Forrest Allen in Battle Creek on a snowy day on December 15, 1951. A planned Florida honeymoon was soon changed to a cozy winter-like cabin stay in Angola, Indiana. Their bond of love and devotion was strong; he went before her thirty-three days earlier on August 20, 2020. Gloria was also preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Phyllis (Bowers) Radike. Surviving are two sons, Andrew William (Diane) Allen of Charlevoix, MI and Gregory Glenn (Kathy) Allen of Battle Creek; two precious grandsons, Chad Allen and Ben (Sammy Jo) Allen; and her brother, Philip "Bud" (Angie) Bowers, Jr. of Vashon Island, WA. She is also survived by nieces, Beth and Kelly, Bud's daughters. Another very special niece is her sister Phyllis' daughter, Jill Sampson. Jill was very near and dear and like a daughter to her. Gloria also leaves behind a host of friends that she loved and valued over the years, including her special friend and caregiver, Kayla, and her other caregivers at Brookdale Battle Creek.

Gloria's professional life started as a tour guide for Post Cereals where she was schooled by Marjorie Merriweather Post. Passing the test, she was chosen to escort the stars and other dignitaries who visited Post. She married Wendell, the love of her life, after a whirlwind three-month engagement. In the early years of marriage they became sharecroppers on the Allen Farm in Clinton, MI. Gloria soon found herself working at a chicken processing plant, which was very different from escorting the rich and famous. When she and Wendell moved to Battle Creek on another farm south of Graham Lake, she learned to drive a tractor and any truck on the farm. There wasn't much she couldn't do when she set her mind to it.

As a homemaker, she made her boys her life. As they made their way through public school, she found herself chasing sports games and meets, which lead her to satisfying roles as the unofficial coach for the Harper Creek Cross-Country team and as a fundraiser for the Harper Creek Football team during the big Harper Creek school strike of 1969. When the boys went off to college, she tried curing the empty nest blues by trying the game of golf. However, she soon traded a club for a racket and the result was a semi-pro pursuit in tennis. She honed her skills under Rod Laver. Gloria loved youth and gave back to the school community by becoming the Harper Creek Girls' Assistant Tennis Coach under Head Coach Dave Studer in the early 1990s. Gloria and Wendell retired to Florida making tennis a huge part of their life there.

Her talents were many, and they included cooking, sewing, decorating, and making purses. If you are the owner of a purse "Designed by G", consider yourself blessed. She had many beloved pets over the years, and her last was her little white Westie "angel" dog, Molly. She loved to tell the story of how Molly could dance.

The memorial service to celebrate Gloria's life will be held on Saturday, October 3rd at 2:00 p.m. at the Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care, Battle Creek with the Rev. Teddy Nichols, officiating. Gloria's family will greet friends on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. until service time at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Ceresco (MI) Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Harper Creek Athletic Boosters, 12677 Beadle Lake Road, Battle Creek, MI 49014 or Sail Charlevoix Junior Sailing Program, P.O. Box 122, Charlevoix, MI 49720 (www.sailcharlevoix.org/support-us).