Nettie Spraker Allen

NASHVILLE, TN FUNERAL SERVICES FOR NETTIE ROSE Spraker Allen, 92, will be held on Thursday, June 18, 2015, at 11 a.m., following a 10:30 a.m. visitation, at Wilkerson Funeral Home in Reidsville, NC. Burial will follow immediately at Greenview Cemetery. A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 19, 2015, at 2 p.m. at Bethel United Methodist Church, Columbia, SC. A reception for friends and relatives will follow in Poole Hall.Mrs. Allen died Friday, June 12, 2015, in Nashville, TN. Born in Maryville, TN, she was the only child of Ralph Ragan Spraker and Nettie Ledbetter Spraker. She graduated from Maryville College in 1944. During her first job as Director of Religious Education at Main Street Methodist Church in Reidsville, NC, she met and, in 1945, married O. Holt Allen. After her children were born, Nettie was a social worker in Rockingham County and later in Charlotte, NC. After a move to Columbia, SC in 1969, Nettie was Executive Director of Planned Parenthood of Richland and Lexington Counties. Eventually she joined Holt at their business, Westside Ice, until retirement.In the 1970's, Nettie experienced increasing hearing loss which had a great effect on her life. She became involved in advocacy for those with hearing loss on a local, state, and national level. We celebrate Nettie's efforts when we see or use 711, public TT's/ TTY's, and captioning for movies and TV.An active Methodist, Nettie considered her greatest gift to her church to be the church history she researched and wrote with Holt, "Bethel United Methodist Church: A Sesqui-Centennial History, 1835 1985." Nettie moved to Forest Pines Retirement Home after years of devoted care for Holt, who died in 2003. Following a stroke in 2012, Nettie moved near her son Jim and wife Deb in Nashville.Surviving are her children, Jane Allen Arens (Dave Hoffman) of Melbourne, FL, Louise Allen Hamer (David Eisenhauer) of Columbia, SC, Col. Robert H. Allen, USAF (Ret) (Debbie) of Ewa Beach, HI, and James R. Allen (Deb), of Nashville, TN; 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.The family would like to express gratitude and thanks to all who appreciated, supported, and kept in touch with Nettie throughout her life.In lieu of flowers, memorials would be appreciated for the work being done by: Bethel United Methodist Church, 4600 Daniel Drive, Columbia, SC 29206; Harvest Hope Food Bank, PO Box 451, Columbia, SC 29202; or Hearing Loss Association of America, either online at www.hearingloss.org or at HLAA Development Office, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Ste 1200, Bethesda, MD 20814.Wilkerson Funeral Home (www.wilkersonfuneral.com) in Reidsville, NC, is providing services for the family.