Maude "Glenna" Allen

After a long struggle with dementia, Maude "Glenna" Allen passed away on October 9, 2025. Born on February 26, 1929, in Naples, Maine, she was one of two children of Mabel and Fred Brown.
Beloved by her family and friends, Glenna had an enormous heart and welcomed many people into her family over her long life. Those who knew her well remember her as a surrogate mother, grandmother, and loyal friend. Her love was unconditional; she listened without judgment and loved people exactly as they were.
Growing up in Norway, Maine, she graduated from Norway High School, and in 1948, she married Fred Allen, her husband of more than 70 years. The couple welcomed their first child, Mike, in 1950, and then moved to South Carolina, where Fred worked as a millwright. While there, Susan was born in 1953 and Laurie was born in 1956. Glenna was happy to follow her husband, raise the children, and take care of the home. Missing their home state, in 1960 they moved to Mexico, Maine, where they lived until Laurie graduated from high school in 1975. After Laurie's graduation, Fred and Glenna moved to their home in Andover, where they resided until 2017.
Known as "the legendary Glenna Allen" in fly-fishing circles, she was an expert fly-tier and avid fly-fisherwoman. For more than forty years, she tied flies professionally, selling her work to L.L. Bean and Orvis as well as to sporting outlets and local fishermen. She tied thousands of patterns, including a few she invented, like the "Jolly Jared" and the "Gotcha." Fishermen far and wide would seek her out for her expertise in fly tying and fly fishing. Her flies were on exhibit at the Fishermen's Museum in Rangeley, Maine.
Her favorite place on earth was the camp Fred built in 1972 with his friend Jim Kenney at a place called Parmachenee, deep in the Maine woods. As a lover of the outdoors, she enjoyed all the seasons "up to camp," where visitors were always welcome. During the day, Glenna prepared large meals for the fishermen and spent time with friends Warren and Shirley Farwell. In the late afternoon, she and Fred often went fishing at the pond with the Farwells, staying out until evening. Afterwards, there were fish stories, games, and puzzles by gaslight before packing into the camp beds, ready to do it all again in the morning. In her late 80s, she was no longer able to make the journey to camp, but the deep love she and Fred had for their camp was imparted to her family, who will continue to enjoy Parmachenee for years to come.
Fly tying aside, Glenna was a skilled crafter, an excellent cook and caretaker, and an expert at knitting, crocheting, and cross-stitching. When her children were growing up, she sewed the majority of their clothing. She was not afraid to rough it-to live on a houseboat, use an outhouse, battle bugs, cook on a camp stove, sleep in a tent, or come face to face with moose or other critters. She could live without a shower or electricity for weeks at a time.
For many summers, Glenna and her clan vacationed on Metallic Island in Richardson Lake. Her grandchildren fondly remember her acting as the "Poke Master General," presiding over the campfire. She would peer through a piece of driftwood with a knot hole in it-a pseudo–magnifying glass-judging the roasted marshmallows. During the days on the beach, she would spin yarns about "South Arm Sally," a benevolent creature who lived in Richardson Lake, to her rapt grandchildren. Other times, back in Andover, she would sit at her fly-tying bench, where the birds fed outside the picture window, teaching the next generation the art of fly tying.
Glenna had a great deal of patience, making her an excellent fisherwoman. She often quietly fished in her small boat on the pond in the Little Magalloway River, trying to catch "the big one." When her grandchildren visited, they would go on moose-hunting expeditions. Piling everyone into the car, she drove to one of the many bogs near her house in Andover, where, in the gathering dark, they watched for moose coming to feed. More often than not, a moose would be spotted.
Always adventurous, after Fred's retirement from the Rumford paper mill in 1991, Glenna and Fred took two extended trips hauling their fifth-wheel to Alaska to salmon fish and see the country.
Glenna was devoted to her family. She helped care for her daughter Laurie's five children while Laurie was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She spoke often to her children and regularly invited her grandchildren for visits. She was a fixture at family gatherings and get-togethers. A Christmas never went by without new mittens knitted for everyone. She never forgot a birthday. During her grandchildren's college days, notes with $20 in them arrived regularly. More than that, her grandchildren remember her as the consummate grandmother. Always one for a game or a story, she spent long hours enjoying all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She taught them to fish, skip rocks, and make cinnamon buns. She was famous for her whoopie pies, rolls, and homemade beans. A family meal was never complete without her cooking.
A cancer survivor herself, Glenna had a quiet but strong faith that supported her through the devastating loss of her daughter Laurie to cancer. An active church member, she attended church services, taught Sunday school, served on church committees, sang in the choir, studied the Bible, and read her Daily Devotionals.
In her last years, she suffered from loss of vision, dementia, and other health problems, but she continued knitting until the very end of her life. She was predeceased by her husband, Fred Allen, and her daughter, Laurie McKay. She is survived by her daughter Sue Kelleher; her son Mike Allen; Jim and Sally McKay; eleven grandchildren; and twenty-six great-grandchildren.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Maude "Glenna" Allen, please visit our floral store.