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Cleona Allen Obituary
November 14, 2023
Overland Park, Kansas - Cleona Allen, 95, passed away on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 in Leawood, Kansas. Cleona was born on April 24, 1928 in Bartow, and grew up in Lakeland. She attended Child's Garden of Learning and Lakeland High School before graduating from Florida State University where she earned her degree in English. While in Tallahassee, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and worked as Assistant Publications Director at Florida State after earning her degree.
Cleona moved briefly to Dayton, Ohio before returning to Florida where she was associated with Trend House Gallery in Tampa and taught classes at the University of South Florida. She and her beloved mother, Cleona Bates Robnett, also owned and managed the Country Girl women's couture boutique in Lakeland for many years. Later, Cleona worked for 30 years as a graduate assistant in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Miami/Miller Medical School, where her work focused on an Amish Study of Bipolar Illness. After retiring, Cleona divided her time between Lakeland and the Kansas City area, where her daughter lives. In Lakeland she was a member of the Junior League, the Polk County Museum, Historic Lakeland and she enjoyed various cultural activities, especially through her affiliation with Florida Southern College.
Cleona was a fine athlete who enjoyed playing tennis and sailing throughout much of her life. She was, up to the date of her passing, an avid reader who was keenly interested in the arts, literature, and current events.
She is survived by her daughter, Shelley Allen Preston, and her husband David, of Prairie Village, Kansas; two grandchildren, Sarah Allen Preston of Prairie Village, and William Foster Preston of Kansas City, Missouri; and three great-grandchildren, all of whom will miss their Nan's loving and impish smile, her boundless intelligence, and her warm greetings and hugs.
A private family service will be held in Kansas City. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive
Lakeland, FL 33801.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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