OBITUARY

Betty D. Allen
Betty D. Allen, 55, of Georgetown passed away March 6, 1997.
She was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 19, 1941, and lived many places in her life, but always considered herself a native Texan. She was employed at Ft. Hood as the IMA director and had worked for the government for 28 years.
She is survived by daughters, Frances K. Allen of Columbia, Maryland; Irene Franklin and husband, of Cedar Park, Texas; her son, Rus Allen, of Boston, Massachusetts; her beloved grandchildren, Casey and Douglas Franklin. Also surviving is her sister, Frances Floyd and family, of Peachtree City, Georgia.


MEMORIAL SERVICE

Betty D. Allen

Director

IMATD

Information Mission Area Test Directorate

TEXCOM

Test and Experimental Command

Fort Hood, Texas


SUCCESS

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

If one advances confidently in the directions of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.
-Henry David Thoreau

Favorite quotations of Betty D. Allen


Inspirational Music

Invocation
Chaplain {LTC} Robert Collins

Words of Memoriam
Gayle Shull

"Wind Beneath My Wings"
Wanda Gunther

Words of Hope
Chaplain {LTC} Robert Collins

Benediction
Chaplain {LTC} Robert Collins


Metro, Killeen Daily Herald, Saturday, March 8, 1997., Page 3-A.

TEXCOM director Betty Allen dies following lengthly bout with cancer.

Betty D. Allen, the director of theTest and Experimentatation Command's Information Mission Area Test Directorate, died last week after a lengthy illness.
The only civilian test director in TEXCOM and one of two women GS 15s. Allen served 28 years in federal civil service, the last four years with TEXCOM.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Allen accepted the position at TEXCOM in 1993. She loved the ruggedness of the central Texas area. She established her home in Georgetown to be close to her grandchildren who reside in Austin.
Allen had been fighting cancer. "She is a brave lady." Brig. Gen. A. J. Madora commented about Allen just hours before her death.
"Of all the great soldiers with all of the medals of honor here at Fort Hood. I thought she was among the bravest of the lot." Col. Sidney F. Baker, Jr., said. Baker served as director of the Close Combat Test Directorate during most of the time Allen was a director.
When Allen first came to TEXCOM and openly talked about her health, avid golfer said "We call ourselves survivors because we realize that once we've had cancerous cells in our bodies, we're never out of the woods. So we strive to lessen our handicap, avoid the sand traps, and always come in under par."
Allen began her civil service career as a cmputer programmer at the Army Material Command's Army Depot in Corpus Christi. She transferred to the Corps of Engineers as a computer specialist and later transferred to the Civilian Personnel Center in Alexandria, Va., where she was appointed chief of the Systems Development Division.
In 1987 she received an appointment as the chief, Information Mangement, for the Army Corps of Engineers in Dallas. She assisted the division engineer in maintaining balance, economy, and efficiency of programmed objectives. She served there for six years before coming to central Texas.


TEXCOM Public Affairs

TEXCOM's command information mission area test director dies

The Director of the Test and Experimentation Command's Information Mission Area Test Directorate, Betty D. Allen, died last week after a long period of illness.
The only civilian test director in TEXCOM and one of only two female GS-15s, Allen had 28 years of federal civilian service--the last four years with TEXCOM.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Allen was raised in Cordele, Ga., and attended the University of Georgia majoring in chemistry. She changed majors and colleges to seek a mathematics degree at the University of Corpus Christi, Texas, and obtained her Masters of Science in Mathematics from Texas A & I University, Kingsville, Texas.
Ms. Allen began her civil service career at the Army Material Command's Army Depot in Corpus Christi as a computer programmer in 1969. She transferred to the Corps of Engineers as a computer specialist in Washington, D.C. in 1979. In 1982, Allen transferred to the Civilian Personnel Center in Alexandria, Va., where she was appointed Chief of the Systems Development Division.
"AMC taught me the value of abiding by the regs; the Corps of Engineers taught me how to accomplish the mission in spite of them. Both were very valuable lessons," Allen said in a Sentinel article shortly after her arrival in TEXCOM.
In 1987, Allen received an appointment as the Chief, Information Mangement, for the Army Corps of Engineers in Dallas, Texas. She assisted the Division Engineer in maintaining balance, economy and efficiency in the accomplishment of programmed objectives in support of the Information Mission Area.
She served in that capacity for six years and then accepted the positionat TEXCOM in May 1993.
I started driving around (Central Texas) and fell in love with the ruggedness of this area," Allen is quoted as saying. She established her new home in Georgetown to be closer ton Austin where she had a grandchild.
"Everyone has been so nice. I don't feel like I've joined a team - I feel like I've been adopted by a very large family," Allen said in June 1993.
Allenhad been fighting a personal battle with cancer since her assignment in Dallas that resulted in completing 13 months chemotherapy. She won most of the battles.
Just hours before her death, at a command and staff meeting where Allen normally occupied a seat next to the other colonels and GS-15s, Brig. Gen. A. J. Madora commented about her amazing courage and strength - "she's a very brave lady."
"Of all the great soldiers with all of the medals here at Fort Hood, I thought she was among the bravest of the lot," said Col. Sidney F. Baker, Jr., who served as Director of the Close Combat Test Directorate during most of the time Allen was a director.
Baker told this to Allen after the last staff meeting he attended with her.
"Knowing about the long-standing battle with cancer and having seen her in combat against this insidious disease for over three years, I had to tell her that, Baker said.
"That was a sincere comment and she took it that way. I'm glad I told Betty what was on my mind-that was the last time I saw her, and now she is gone, Baker said.
When Allen first came to TEXCOM and openly talked of her health situation, the avid golfer said
"We call ourselves survivors because we realize that, once we've had a cancerous cells in our bodies, we're never out of the woods. So we strive to lessen our handicap - avoid the sand traps- and always come in under par."