Edythe Allen, a Fernandina Beach, Florida resident since 2005, was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 22, 1916.

She was an infant before the U.S. entered World War I; a toddler during the flu epidemic of 1918; a schoolgirl in the Jazz Age; a teenager during the Great Depression. Her father made sales calls in a horse-drawn buggy. Her mother made dresses and hats for the well-to-do.

Edythe grew up before penicillin and pacemakers. Furnaces or fireplaces heated most homes. Almost no one could communicate by telephone, or travel by plane. It was before vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, zippers, Velcro, and air conditioners. Televisions, frozen foods and credit cards did not exist.

In 1935, Edythe graduated from high school. Three years later, she eloped in an Essex Terraplane motor car with her sweetheart, Ralph Allen, with whom she would spend 62 loving and eventful years. It was during the Great Depression and the start of World War II. Difficult times for everyone. Ralph was a fledgling real estate broker with a widowed mother.

His and Edythe's first child miscarried.

In 1944, their son, Ralph, was born, and Edythe's father took his own life.

Another son, Douglas, was born a year later, and in 1950, daughter Beverly arrived.

Through it all, Edythe was blessed with strength, hope, good health and determination. With a growing household, she managed the usual wifely and daughterly tasks. She assisted with her husband's new insurance business and orchestrated lively parties for friends and family.

In 1960, at age 44, she joined the office staff at Mack Trucks in New Jersey. She took dictation using a steno pad and made copies of letters with carbon paper. After 21 years, she retired at age 65 as an executive secretary with a fancy plaque and full retirement benefits. Her health insurance lasted almost four more decades.

Retirement didn't slow her down, it seemed to speed her up. Edythe and Ralph retired to the Jersey Shore and kept a boat moored off their backyard. She volunteered for years at the local hospital and continued to host joyful parties. She enjoyed visiting far flung family, sightseeing trips with the local AARP and renewed her 50th anniversary wedding vows with a grand celebratory dinner/dance attended by dozens of relatives and friends.

When macular degeneration began degrading her sight, she fought it fiercely. She learned to manage with ingenuity and assistive devices and with help from her loving husband and family.

In 2004, her beloved Ralph passed away at age 90. Edythe was devastated but determined to move on.

At age 89, she moved to Fernandina Beach to be close to her son and his wife, and soon began house hunting. Before the year was out, Edythe had purchased a brand-new home in Fernandina Beach and was carefully planning the landscaping and special occasions with children, grandchildren and great grandkids-to-be. She enjoyed her home here for 18 years.

Edythe's 100th and 101st birthday dinners were held at a favorite Amelia Island restaurant, where staff and other diners happily joined in toasting to a determined and beautiful woman who never gave up on the pursuit of happiness. To the delight of all, she was as sharp and fun-loving as ever.

She never lost her signature graciousness, compassion and optimism.

After a long, productive life filled with love and care for the people who meant so much to her, Edythe Allen passed away peacefully on October 9, 2023.

Her survivors included her children and their families in Fernandina Beach, FL, Georgia, and Tennessee and other family members in Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, and Italy.

Daughter of:

Otto Paul Strube (1890-1942)

Josephine Caroline Brown Strube (3 January 1892 - 16 April 1987)