Vila Allen
Wenatchee, Washington
March 9, 2008

Vila Allen, 93, died at the hospital Sunday, March 9, 2008, after a brief illness. She was born to Isabelle (Knutson) and Thyge Thygeson in their Gatzke, MN, farmhouse on September 13, 1914. Vila went to school in a one-room schoolhouse shared with her sister, Addie, brothers Hollis, Lester and Bob, as well as many Knutson cousins. After attending beauty school in Fargo, ND, she moved to Wenatchee along with her mother and brother, Bob. Vila married Clayton Allen on Christmas Eve in 1940. Their only child, Barbara, was born in Bremerton in 1942 while Clayton was repairing wartime ships. Upon returning to Wenatchee, Vila worked in Drs. Earl & Glenn Bolton's medical office and later at the Eye & Ear Clinic/Hospital.

She was a wonderful mother and delighted in her daughter's sons, Todd and Jeff, and four great-grandchildren. Vila loved being a homemaker, cooking and entertaining. She has always been such a generous and giving lady, a tiny dynamo, especially with cookies or paintbrush in hand. In the 1970's, her big adventure (a cruise to the Holy Lands on the H.M.S. Richards) was gleefully topped-off by a camel ride at the base of the pyramids.

Survivors include her husband of 67 years, Clayton; daughter, Barbara and husband, Joe; grandsons Todd of Seattle, WA, and Jeff (Kirsten) of Colorado Springs, CO; and her great-grandchildren, Carly, twins Susannah and Joe, and Dylan Huston; her brother, Bob Thygeson, and his wife and children; and many nieces and nephews. She is already so missed, we all look forward eagerly to being in Heaven together with her. The world is less without her.

Viewing will be from 2 to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 14, 2008, at Jones & Jones~Betts Funeral Home. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 15 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Western Avenue in Wenatchee. Interment will follow at Evergreen Memorial Park in East Wenatchee. Memorial contributions can be made to International Children's Care, P.O. Box 820610, Vancouver, WA 98682-0013.