Constance Allen Obituary

Constance Marlatt Huested Allen

Constance Marlatt Huested Allen died on January 29, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. She was born on May 21, 1940 in Englewood, New Jersey to Richard Salisbury Huested and Constance Marlatt Huested. Her father was an aeronautical engineer who served in many areas around the world, during and after World War II. Her mother was a homemaker and the descendent of a prominent Washington, D.C. family.

Conkie, as she was known to her friends, came to Lawrence to attend KU and it was there that she met Arly Allen, who became her husband. He remembers first seeing her skipping and bouncing along as she walked to class. She was vibrant, beautiful and intelligent. They married on June 23, 1962 in the chapel of St. Christopher by the Sea on Gibson Island, Maryland.

Conkie had two children: Arly Hedrick Allen of Lawrence and Patience Allen of Oslo, Norway. For many years Conkie worked at Allen Press, Inc. where she managed the proofroom and developed an editorial services program for scholarly journals. She also served as den mother for her son's Cub Scout troop, was a member of a local book club and the Daffodil Club. She loved to knit and made sweaters which her son remembers wearing constantly to school. She was a master gardener and liked picking berries and working in her garden. She was a great cook and wrote a wonderful cookbook, which her family still treasures. Finally, she loved cats. When one died, the word would go out in cat-circles and a new stray would appear at the back door to take up residence.

The major love of her life was genealogy. She learned this from her grandmother, Helen Stuart Mackay-Smith Marlatt who published a major work: The Stuart Letters of Robert and Elizabeth Sullivan Stuart (1819-1864) (Privately printed 1961) 2 volumes. After Conkie's retirement from Allen Press, Inc. she devoted much of her time to continuing the work her grandmother had begun. She and her husband traveled to many out of the way graveyards doing genealogical research. She collected a significant library of materials and books on early Kansas and American genealogy. She leaves this library to her sister, Mrs. Brian Nield, to carry on this work.

She suffered a stroke in 2007 which curtailed her travel and her activities, but she still carried on her genealogical work to the extent she was able. She died suddenly this past week from various medical complications. She will be greatly missed.

There will be a funeral service at the Rumsey-Yost funeral home on February 10, 2016, at 4 pm and a celebration of life party for Conkie at her home will take place at a later date.

Online condolences may be made at rumsey-yost.com

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