Obituaries  -  Mary Edna Brown Allen

Our beloved mother, Edna Brown Allen, 101, departed this life at 11:45 p.m., February 23, 1998, in a rest home in Bountiful, Utah.
Edna Brown was born March 21, 1897 in a log house in Fairview, Wyo., a daughter of James Fredrick Brown Sr. and Esther Amelia Marriott Brown [daughter of John Marriott Jr. 1817-1899 and Elizabeth Stewart 1829-1914]. The Browns were some of the earliest inhabitants of Star Valley, Wyo., having settled there in 1885. Edna had four elder brothers, James Fredrick Brown Jr., Charles William Brown, George Willard Brown, and Joseph Lorain Brown, who were reared and raised their families in Fairview. All her brothers are now deceased. [Two children died as infants, Brigham Brown and Erma Elizabeth Brown.]

Edna graduated from Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyo., and later attended Weber College in Ogden, the University of Wyoming and Utah State Agricultural College. Before her marriage, she taught school in Star Valley and Ogden, Utah, and in later years she taught in Logan, Utah.

From 1921-23, Edna served as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Eastern States Mission. There, she met Harold Tranter Allen of Coalville, Utah, [son of Thomas Lonsdale Allen 1849-1928, and Sarah Rankin McCarthy Allen.] They were married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on June 25, 1925. They lived for a long time in Salt Lake City, moved to Fairview, Wyo., then in 1936, to Logan, Utah. They were the parents of four sons, James, John, Don and Paul.

Always active in the LDS Church, Edna became a Logan LDS Temple officiator in 1945. Two years later, she was employed full time as sealing supervisor. In 1958, she became assistant recorder. She retired in 1962. She and her husband later served for 15 years as missionaries in the Logan Family History Center.

She is survived by her sons, James B. Allen (Renee), Orem, Utah, John H. Allen (JoAnne), Bountiful, Utah, Don B. Allen (Sandra), Salt Lake City, Utah, Paul B. Allen (Janette), Centerville, Utah; 17 grandchildren; and 30 great-grandchildren. Her husband, Harold, preceded her in death Oct. 6, 1991. The sole survivor of Harold's siblings, Marie Allen Floyd, resides in Cedar City, Utah.

Funeral services are at noon Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Logan 5th Ward Chapel, 300 N. 500 East, where friends may call from 10:30 a.m. until the time of services. Bur­ial will be in Logan Cemetery.
Edna lived a long and remarkable life. Her two greatest loves were her family and her church, and she devoted her entire life to serving both of them. One of her greatest pleasures in later life was telling her grandchildren and great-grandchildren stories of her youth in Star Valley. Her family and friends will miss her deeply, but her sincere faith has inspired them all with assurance of being reunited with her in a later life.

James Brown Allen

James Brown Allen has spent his career studying Western, Utah, and Mormon history. James has written numerous books (Mormons & Gentiles: A History of Salt Lake City, World History from 1500 -co-authored with J. Michael Allen, Hearts Turned to the Fathers, among others), articles (for F.A.R.M.S., etc.), and reviews. Allen received his B.S. from Utah State, his M.A. from B.Y.U., and his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He was on the Board of Editors at Brigham Young University, and has served as an editorial consultant for other journals and publishers. James B. Allen has been a Professor of History at Brigham Young University (1984).

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