ALLEN, Frank Willard 1919-2016

ALLEN, KOTECK, DOUD

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 1/27/2016 at 10:05:18

#1:

Frank Willard Allen, Charles City

CHARLES CITY, IOWA — Frank Willard Allen, 96, of Charles City, died Monday, January 25, 2016, at the Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E., Mason City.

Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 641-423-2372, ColonialChapels.com.

Source: Mason City Globe Gazette website, 1/27/2016
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#2:

Obituary for Frank Willard Allen

Frank Willard Allen, 96, of Charles City, Iowa passed away Monday, January 25, 2016, at Charles City Chautauqua Guest Home.

The graveside service for Frank will be held at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, January 30, 2016, at Memorial Park Cemetery, 11495 265th Street, Mason City, Iowa, with Reverend Ed Bard officiating. Military honors to be presented by the Mason City Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd Street NE, Mason City, is in charge of the arrangements.

Frank was born August 25, 1919 in Eldora, Iowa, to parents William Alenzo Allen and Ethel Pamelia (Doud) Allen. Frank graduated from Eldora High School in 1938 and worked for Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps and was inducted December 26, 1941, in Detroit. He served as an air traffic controller in Washington D.C. at Bolling Field. Then assigned to the 19th Army Airways Communication Squadron attached to the 376th Heavy Bomb Group in North Africa, he used his radio operator communications experience to guide and land airplanes, primarily the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. Frank flew in the B-24s, and when he was on a mission flying over the southern part of Italy, a group of enemy planes attacked. As the radioman/gunner for his plane, Frank shot down two enemy planes and was subsequently awarded a Bronze Star. He served his country faithfully during World War II and was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant on August 29, 1945, at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.

In July of 1942, Frank married Wilma Lee Koteck, in Washington D.C. After World War II, he returned to Marshalltown, Iowa and worked for Nash Finch.

They moved to Ames, Iowa where he was the manager of Montgomery Ward for seven years. Transferred to Mason City, Iowa he was the store manager until Montgomery Ward closed their Farm Stores in 1970. He started as a salesmen for Skyline AO Smith Harvestore Systems of Nashua, Iowa while living in Mason City, Iowa. The family then moved to Charles City, Iowa in 1972 and Frank won numerous yearly-awards as the top-selling sales manager for Skyline AO Smith Harvestore Systems of Nashua, Iowa.

Frank loved his two children, Sandra Lynn DeWilde and Scott Christopher Allen. He enjoyed hunting with Scott and his dog, fishing from Tom and Sandra's dock in Clear Lake, and walleye fishing with his children and grandchildren in Canada. He enjoyed spending time with his great grandchildren.

At 90 years old, he still loved flying and airplanes, and in October 2009 he flew on a Veterans Honor Flight to Washington D.C., toured the new World War II monument. Frank especially appreciated the plane’s landing location; near where his control tower experience started so many years earlier.

Cherishing his memory are his son, Scott (Kathy) Allen of Des Moines, Iowa; grandchildren, Tamara (Dan) Kroc of Libertyville, Illinois, and Jason DeWilde, of Ankeny, Iowa; great-grandchildren, Ashley and Kelly Kroc, and Ellen, Tommy and Andy DeWilde.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Wilma Lee; his daughter Sandra DeWilde and her husband Tom; two brothers Arthur (Verna) and Robert "Bobby" (Karlene), and sisters Lillian (Bob) Whitting, Ruth (Cal) Johnson, Margaret (Bob) Hanson, and Mary (Ray) Taylor.

Source: Colonial Chapels Funeral Home website
Also see Mason City Globe Gazette for JAN 18, 2016