Joy Lou Allen

Allen Joy Lou (Mahan) Allen, of Upper Arlington, Ohio, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina and Bragdon Island, French River, Ontario, died at home Sunday, August 2, 2015. Joy was 83. Born to Gertrude and Cramer Mahan (both deceased) on October 9, 1931 in Dayton, Ohio, Joy graduated Beavercreek HS in 1949 where she was a cheerleader and played clarinet in the marching band. In 1953, she earned a BA in English from Ohio University. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and played on their powder bowl football team garnering a mention in the New York Times for her kicking skills. Joy also was selected Queen of the OU yearbook Athena in 1953. It was at Ohio University where she met her husband, Bruce M. Allen, Jr. They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Joy had many interests. She was an amateur naturalist and birder as well as a fisherwoman known as "Queen of the Muskies of Bragdon Island" at the family's vacation home on the French River in Northern Ontario. She was a fantastic cook and loved trying new recipes from the Food Channel. An avid reader, Joy belonged to a book club on Daufuskie Island. She played in a women's bowling league during the 60's and 70's; golfed at Worthington Hills, Muirfield Village Golf Club, The Melrose Club and OSU Golf Course and followed OSU basketball and the Columbus Blue Jackets. She enjoyed working New York Times crossword and double acrostic puzzles. A skeptic of the internet and cell phones, she believed in staying in touch the old fashioned way through handwritten letters and phone calls from a land line. Joy is survived by husband, Bruce; two children, Jennifer Young (Joseph) and Stuart Allen (Meg Loving); seven grandchildren, Jessica, Luke, Mitchell and Will Allen and Kathryn Welch-Young (Vijay), Jay and Emily Young; sister and brother-in-law, Gay and Richard Schimmoller and their daughters, Terry, Cristy and Becky; as well as several nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews across the US. The family wishes to thank Joy's caregivers, Evelyn, Ivelyn and Vida from Griswold Home Care; Tears from Homewell; Mary and Helen from OhioHealth Hospice and Kelly Kern for their tireless care and loving support. The family will receive friends from 2-3 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, 2015 at SCHOEDINGER FUNERAL HOME, MIDTOWN CHAPEL, 229 E. State St., Columbus, OH 43215 with a memorial service immediately following at 3 p.m. in the Schoedinger chapel. Donations can be made to the Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation, P.O. Box 52, Daufuskie Island, SC 29915.