Merle W. Allen, Gridley
1927 - 2008
Merle W. Allen of rural Gridley died Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, at Coffey County Hospital in Burlington. He was 80.
Mr. Allen worked for a time in Kansas City in his early years before he returned to the farm east of Gridley. He was a self-taught mechanic, welder, manufacturer and a jack-of-all-trades. Several farmers in the area relied on Mr. Allen to keep their equipment running and to fix anything that needed repaired. If they didn’t have something they needed, Mr. Allen would make it or he would know exactly which salvage yard would have it. He also did custom harvesting. He had helped build and set up equipment for a manufacturing shop and had built everything from hay wagons to sand plants.
Even though he had no driver’s license, he traveled around the area on his tractor. He stayed on the farm until he moved to an apartment in LeRoy several months ago. Arnold Kraft and Eldon Wright were his caretakers until his health failed and he moved to the nursing home in Yates Center before he moved to the Life Care Center in Burlington.
The son of George and Mattie Weiler Allen, he was born June 14, 1927, at Gridley.
Mr. Allen is survived by a sister, Doris Jones Cowen of Maysville, Calif.; and first cousins in the area, Arnold and Shirley Kraft of Gridley and Dan and Linda Allen of Burlington.
The memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Jones Funeral Home in Burlington. Mr. Allen was cremated. Inurnment will be at a later date at Cola Hill Cemetery, southwest of Burlington.