Ruth Allen

Ruth D. Allen was born on May 8, 1936 to Arthur and Marie Durant. She was the baby girl of their seven children. As a child she was raised in the Ward of Homestead, Pennsylvania and enjoyed skating and playing softball. After the death of her mother and numerous visits to South Carolina, Ruth asked her father if she could stay with her mother’s people and continue her education in South Carolina. She attended and graduated from Dennis School in Bishopville, South Carolina. Ruth was joined in marriage to Phillip C. Allen with whom she had four children: Lauretta Lynn (Peaches), Karl, Phyllis, and Arthur. She worked in the security department of the city of Pittsburgh public school system for more than 30 years. While working at Gladstone School, Ms. Allen would organize and finance after-school skating trips for the kids helping to bridge the culture gap and also giving her the opportunity to demonstrate her skating skills. These trips remain a part of the Gladstone memories of those former kids who are adults today. Her love of community and cooking would bring family, friends, and anyone who desired a hot cooked meal together to discuss community and world politics. Everyone was welcome at her table regardless of race, religion, or economic status. Ruth, her two sisters (Ida Arrington and Sarah Dixon) and three very close friends (Ms. Pearl, Geraldine Wilson, and Patricia Hawkins) are responsible for the food pilot program that fed the children across Allegheny and connecting counties during the summer. The fruits of that program are still enjoyed by children nationwide today. Ms. Allen believed in being there for her family, friends, and community in whatever capacity that God allowed to bring joy, happiness, peace, and of course a full stomach. She was a voice for those who couldn’t speak, an ear for those who needed to be heard, a shoulder for those who needed to lean or just cry, a girlfriend to those who needed a true friend, a hand to those who couldn’t get up on their own, and a protector of those who just couldn’t protect themselves for various reasons. This woman, 5 feet 4 inches in stature, was truly a force that you did not want to mess with. Ruth Durant Allen was preceded in death by her daughter, Lauretta Lynn (Peaches) Allen-Durham, 4 sisters: Katherine Durant, Ida Mae Arrington-Westbrook, Sarah Dixon, and Elizabeth Stewart; and 2 brothers: William and Arthur Durant. She leaves to mourn her passing her children: Karl and Arthur Allen of Pittsburgh and Phyllis Allen of Atlanta; her brother in-law, David Allen of Maryland; her daughter Doris Green of Pittsburgh; and her six grandsons: Barry, Donel, Karl Jr., Ishmael, Malcolm, and Dominique. She is also survived by 14 great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Ruth Durant Allen was the last of Arthur and Marie’s children, so let us never forget the sacrifices that her generation made for us and the wisdom that they instilled in us as a family. The Allen children would like to leave you with this scripture, John 14:27 (NIV), PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU. I DO NOT GIVE TO YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES. DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED AND DO NOT BE AFRAID, for Ruth Durant Allen will always be with you. Done by order of the family.

Tributes

Ruth Allen

May 8, 1936 - December 30, 2023