Dora Lee (Arnold) Allen was born in Salem, Nebraska on October 22, 1931 during the Great Depression. Her parents were Ruth (Arnold) Powell and Lloyd Arnold. She was the second of their five daughters: Betty, Dora, Lois, Donna and Ruth Ann.
Her allowance was about 25 cents which would cover a movie ticket - 12 cents, a sodapop - 5 cents, and popcorn - 5 cents. An average bag of groceries would be just $5 and their rent was about $35 a month. When she was just a youth she was baptized in the Church of Christ. In 1952 She married James Smith and had a son named Clyde Lee who died very young and is buried in the Salem cemetary.
When she was 25 she met Donald Edward Allen (my dad) who was just a year older than she was. They were wedded July 26, 1959 in Oklahoma and settled in a small town called Falls City, Nebraska. Since Don was painter they lived in different places such as Kansas City where their firstborn daughter, Donna Jean was born on October 8, 1961. By 1965 they had moved back to Falls City and they had another daughter, Linda Lee born on April 7 of that year.
Dora was a homemaker who loved to care for her children and bake. She would make delicious homemade cinamon rolls, egg noodles from scratch, bread, cookies, cakes, etc. I used to help her in the kitchen and at the age of 10 she taught me how to cook a few simple things. She used an old fashioned wringer washer machine to wash our clothes and hung clothes out on the clothesline to dry in the warm sunshine air. Her favorite flower was the rose and her husband planted her a rose bush in the front yard.
Since Don was a painter, she moved from residence to residence quite frequently. She not only took care of her husband and daughters but also any stray dog or cat that Don would pick up. At one time, she got tired of trying to housebreak on of the dogs that he had brought home so Don loaded up the family and the pet in the car and dropped it off where he found it in the first place. But I tell you, that persistant, loyal dog was at home on their front porch as they drove up.
When traveling through a very small town on a Sunday afternoon car ride, Dora would say, " Don't blink or you'll miss it."
Unfortunately, in 1974 she found a lump in her left breast. She went to one doctor who told her it wasn't anything to worry about but when she got a second doctor's opinion she was transferred to the Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. There they did some extensive testing and found out that indeed it was breast cancer. In May of that year she underwent surgery and had to stay up there for a time for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. They removed her left breast and the cancer spread to her liver. Her mother, Ruth, stayed with her in an apartment and took care of her and the girls as they visited in the summer.
She moved back to Falls City right next door to her mother, Ruth. She and the girls lived there for awhile and moved to one more residency before she had to move back to Omaha in 1976. During her treatments she would become very sick and weak at times. Her hair fell out and she wore a wig. She was in and out of the hospital a few times. The last time she was in the hospital, she had her niece, Cathy take care of her youngest girl, (me).
After the death of her first born, Donna she was moved into a nursing home in Falls City, Nebraska. She had pretty much was very depressed and had given up on chemotherapy. Donna had died in July of 1977 . Her youngest daughter, Linda, was placed in foster care.
I came to visit her often and the last time she was there, she placed all of Dora's get-well cards on the wall so she could see them and then she climbed in bed with her and snuggled up close to her.
Dora Lee Allen died in her sleep on September 26, 1977. Dora is survived by her sisters: Betty Howard, Lois Kimes, Donna McBride, Ruth Ann Eppens and by her daughter: Linda (Allen) West . By her grandchildren: Laura Danielle Davis Davenport, Jonathon Edward-Lee Davis, Tonya Lynette Davis, and Savannah Marie Davis. By her great-grandaughter Audrey Lucille Davenport.
