(Sfa//6earer Bruce Allen, Sr. Perman Coleman, Jr. Rafael Daniel Dexter Greene Miles Jackson Lydell Miles The family extends heartfelt appreciation for all expressions of kindness shown during the illness and passing of Mrs. Allen. Your prayers, phone calls, text messages, visits, food, cards, and assistance with making this a memorable day have helped ease our sorrow. May God bless each of you. We are especially grateful to the following for their loving care and support: Lake Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Indian Trail, NC; neighbors in the Hornsby and Eastview Subdivisions; Community Outreach Spiritual/ Supportive Team , Inc. (COST) of Augusta; the Moses Missionary Baptist Church family; the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church family (Albany, GA); and the Mount Carmel Baptist Church family (Charlotte, NC). W. H. MAYS MORTUARY "Professional Service A Family Tradition Since 1922" 1221 James Brown Boulevard Augusta, Georgia 30901 (706) 722-6401 DESIGN/PRINTING BY: AUGUSTA BLUEPRINT * AUGUSTA, GEORGIA * (706) 722-6488 WWW.AUGUSTAFUNERALNOTICES.COM Sunrise October 13, 1924 Sunset October 15, 2013 Saturday, October 19, 2013 1:00 P.M. MOSES MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 112 Walker Street Augusta, Georgia Reverend Corey D. Brown, Pastor - Officiating OCTOBER 13, 1924 - OCTOBER 15, 2013 Mrs. Allen was born in rural Saluda County, South Carolina, to Mr. and Mrs. George Nelson and Sophia Young Miles. She was the seventh of their twelve children. Having been preceded in death by both parents, as well as her siblings, Benjamin Harrison, Gorgie Lee, Pearlie Mae, Ulysses, Gracie Bell, Thelma Ruth, Bernice Alice, Willie Mack, Lewis Eugene, and Joshua, she is survived by Vivian Ann Miles Daniel of Washington, DC. She was baptized at the Mount Enon Baptist Church, where she would later serve as Church Clerk for many years. Encouraged by her mother, she eschewed the traditional lifestyles of most females of her time, choosing education over farm and family life. Her education began at Union Hope Rosenwald School, then Persimmon Creek School. Later, after her mother moved the family closer to a school with more welleducated teachers, she attended Higgins Elementary. Because Saluda County (as most southern school systems) did not provide transportation to African-Americans pursuing high school, her parents secured housing for her in the town of Saluda so that she could attend Saluda Rosenwald High School, Class of 1944. During that time, she established herself not only as a scholar, but as an athlete, playing guard on the school's six-on-six basketball team. In 1948, she graduated from Benedict College, and later pursued post-graduate studies at Fort Valley State College. Her teaching career commenced at the same Union Hope School where she started her formal education. Later, she moved to Mine Creek Elementary, and after the new Riverside School was constructed, she came into her own as an educator by finding that 6th and 7th graders were her favorites to instruct. As a testament to her passion and acumen, now sixty-five years later in some cases, former students offer not only stories of how strict she was, but also of how much they learned under the tutelage of Miss Miles. Her classroom motto was "I'm as nice as you let me be, and as mean as you make me. " Never lacking in verve, she is one of the rare individuals who purchased a car -- a 1949 Chevy Deluxe -- before she learned to drive, relying on younger brother Lewis to teach her (and maneuver out of a few ditches in the process). Once she got the hang of it, she and friends would strike out to Washington, Chicago and New York during the summers. Though her interest in cars never waned, her most beloved vehicle was her 1963 Chevrolet Impala, a white four-door hard top featuring a red interior. On October 1, 1960, she married Calloway Allen (1923-2008) and moved to Augusta, Georgia. She would remain there until a major health challenge in 2011, at which time she relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Once in Augusta, she began to re-invent herself after a lifethreatening illness kept her out of the classroom. The family joined the Hale Street Baptist Church in 1973, where she took on various responsibilities, including ordering Sunday School materials, singing in the Jubileers Gospel Choir, and organizing holiday food give-a-ways. She also served as a volunteer literacy instructor for adults with reading deficits. She and her husband joined the Moses Missionary Baptist Church in the 2000s. Perhaps her most remarkable accomplishment as a volunteer took place after she became an octogenarian, when she registered voters for the historic 2008 presidential election. Mrs. Allen served as an earthen vessel for God's healing power in 2011. Her heart stopped beating three times, and three times, God used modern medical techniques and the Holy Spirit to bring her back to life. Despite the dire warnings of physicians who deemed her too old, too frail, and too sick to survive another 48 hours, she carried on for another two years, eight months, always in sound mind and humility. There are many lessons she would want us to glean from her eighty-nine years; and, while these expressions may seem trite, they are the foundation of her well-lived life: 1. PERSEVERANCE: You can make it if you try. 2. TEMPERANCE: Remain calm in all circumstances. 3. TRANSFORMATION: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. 4. SELF-CONTROL: If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. 5. CLASS: If you don't start anything messy, there won't be anything messy. 6. LEARNING: If you don't know, look it up! 7. VALUES: When you do something wrong, someone sees you. In addition to youngest sister, Mrs. Daniel, Mrs. Allen is survived by: her only child, Janice Michelle Allen Jackson, who is proud and grateful to be hers; son-in-law, Joe; grandson, Miles Louis; granddaughter, Caroline Michelle, all of Charlotte, North Carolina; two special nieces, Eleanor Joan Greene Homer of Thomasville, Georgia and Gelena Helen Greene (William) Bosket of Saluda, South Carolina, in whose upbringing she assisted. Numerous other relatives, neighbors, former students and friends mourn her passing and appreciate the person that she was. Processional Scripture Reading Minister Prayer Reverend Seymore Harrison, Sr. Pastor, White Rock Baptist Church Lincolnton, Georgia Selection Moses Missionary Baptist Church Choir As We Knew Her As A Professional Reverend Raymond Adams Pastor, Mount Moriah Baptist Church Greenwood, South Carolina As A Role Model Ms. Joan Greene Homer As A Sister in Christ... Mrs. Melita McGahee Lowe Selection Moses Missionary Baptist Church Choir Acknowledgements Ms. Vonteice Williamson Davis Words of Comfort Reverend Corey D. Brown Pastor, Moses Missionary Baptist Church Recessional Interment Walker Memorial Park Eastview Community Center 644 Aiken Street