Jean Allen

(Laura) Jean Barnett Allen, 100, Indianapolis, Indiana, arrived in Heaven on January 12, 2024.  She passed away peacefully with her daughter, Kathy, at her side.

She was born, at home, in Indianapolis on March 8, 1923, to Lois Hurley Barnett and Denzil Edgar Barnett.  She was the fourth of five children - Virginia, Ed, Louise, Jean, and Francie.  Born, raised, and living in Indianapolis all her life, Jean attended IPS 27 through 8^th grade, then Arsenal Technical High School, class of 1940.  Post graduation from Tech, she worked as a legal secretary.  She loved learning and longed to attend college but was unable due to financial constraints.

She met her husband, Homer Johnson Allen, when they both worked at Curtiss-Wright, a propeller manufacturer during the war years, and still a leader in the aerospace industry. Both only 19 years old when they married on November 13, 1942, Homer was soon drafted.  He served in the Air Force overseas until the end of the war, and many a love letter flew back and forth across the Atlantic before he was discharged on November 5, 1945. They were faithfully married for 69 years before Homer passed away in 2012. 

Together Homer and Jean raised a family and began a business, Commercial Parts & Service, Inc., blending and merging the two quite successfully. They both loved and served the Lord and were generous with time and treasure.  Music was always a large and important part of Jean’s life, especially choral music.  She was always a member of her church choir from her teenage years, and a member of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir in later years. She especially loved singing with her East 91^st St. Christian Church choir family for many years.   And her musical 90^th birthday Roaring 20’s bash was quite the affair and not easily forgotten!

Jean was baptized at the age of 16, but it was many years before she truly understood what it meant to be a Christian and walk with Jesus on a daily basis.  Bible Study Fellowship played a large part in her early Christian life, but she began a deeper relationship with the Lord when she became an oblate member of The Community of Jesus, on Cape Cod.  “The Community” played a significant role in her learning how to authentically live as a Christian.  A faithful church attender to the last month of her life, Jean also loved listening and learning from various preachers and teachers on YouTube.  She kept current with the trends and used her iPhone and iPad on a daily basis right up to the end.

A charter member of Legacy Bible Church, she was very proud to be known as the matriarch of Legacy and cherished many deep and lasting friendships made there.  She loved nothing more than to tell anyone and everyone about Jesus and His love for them.  She witnessed this to the very end of her life.

Celebrating her life and her devotion to her Lord, her family and her friendships are her son, Gary (Linda) Allen; her daughters, Kathy (Brooks) Wilson and Cindy (Thad) Harvey; her grandchildren, Luke (Hazel) Nelson, Jeremy (Emily) Allen, Micah (Daniel) Nelson, Michael (Stephanie) Allen, Ryan (Ally) Harvey, Joel (Jennifer) Allen, Ian Harvey, Seth (Stephanie) Harvey and Olivia (Terry) Broadhurst; sisters Pam (Dave) Douglas and Candace (Barry) McCoy;  14 great-grandchildren, Joseph, Jacob, Henry, Hanna,

Adrian, Adelyn, Isabelle, Louis, Henley, Levi, Scott, Sophia, Daniel, and Murray; several nieces and nephews; and two dear friends and loving caregivers, LuAnn (Richard) Garmany and Becky (Tom) Foltz.

A celebration of Jean’s life will be at Legacy Bible Church, 13490 Howe Road, Fishers, Indiana 46038.  Visitation Friday, January 19, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and funeral service Saturday, January 20, 11:00 a.m. with visitation an hour prior. Burial will follow later in the afternoon at Washington Park East, 10722 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46229.  Flanner Buchanan is providing the arrangements.

For those wishing to honor Jean’s loving spirit and Christian legacy, a contribution to The Community of Jesus, P.  O.  Box 1094, Orleans, Massachusetts 02653, will be most welcomed and appreciated.