Mary Ann Allen

Mary Ann Allen, of Rockford passed away from a long battle with Alzheimer’s on November 29, 2023. Born Mary Ann Waring to Harold (Al) and Kathleen Waring in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 1950s her family moved to Davenport, Iowa. Eventually her parents had eight children and her grandfather living under one roof. She was proud to be part of a big family and had dreams of having her own family someday. Some of her best memories were spending time with her siblings. Her most memorable story was when she played runaway train with her brother Mike and went down Lookout Hill in a wagon onto oncoming traffic (she didn’t get hurt thankfully).

She graduated from Assumption High School and received her LPN in nursing. She worked as a nurse for the next 19 years at Mercy Hospital and loved caring for the sick and helping others. At 36 years old, in 1984, she met the love of her life, John Allen at a Civil War reenactment. They were married a year later in 1985. A year after that her dreams of becoming a mom were fully realized when she had her daughter Elizabeth. And when she was almost 41, she gave birth to her daughter Carrie and her family was complete.

After having children, she and John decided that they wanted to sell items at Civil War events and other history events. She traveled the country with her family in an old RV, setting up camp at just about every battlefield. She dressed her daughters in dresses equipped with hoop skirts and took them to teas, various balls where they learned dancing from the 1800s, made them hats, and taught them everything about how people lived in different time periods. A talented seamstress, she was proud to promenade with her girls, with items she made them: parasols, giant hats, elaborate dresses and all the layers underneath, even corsets.

She thought it was important to travel and took her children to over 40 states. Her favorite trip was taking them to Rome, Italy and telling them the history. She loved history and had millions of random facts in her head. She could name the period of clothing on any television show or movie. When stargazing, she could name the constellations. She loved to garden and could name almost any plant. Her garden was her pride and joy, especially her tomato plants.

A perfect summer day with her was finding treasures at garage sales and finding a bake sale so she could enjoy some chocolate. During the holidays she loved to bake for her large family and would be proud of her tins of chocolate covered pretzels and baking fresh loaves of bread personalized to the recipient.

She developed a passion for genealogy before most people had a computer in their homes. She didn’t see ancestors as a name and dates. She wanted to discover her history, their stories and where she came from. She would tirelessly go on forums, research with the Mormon libraries and scour microfiche to find as much information as she could. Because of her efforts, generations to come in our family can trace our lineage back to the 1700s.

She leaves behind a legacy of kindness and love and her family deeply misses her. She is predeceased by her parents Harold and Kathleen, and her grandparents Eleanor, Henry, John and Margaret and her beloved dog Scooter and her sweet kitty Jasper. Survivors include her husband John, her children Elizabeth (Mike) Falls and Carrie Allen, her grandchildren Elliot and Emmett, her siblings Mike Waring, Peg (Bob) Wozniak, Rose (Mike) Miller, Joe (Val) Waring, Pat (Barb) Waring, Grace (Dave) Herrera, Ellen (Dave) Martin, her nieces Kateri (Mike), Toni (Adam), Rachel (Bill), Amanda, Andrea, Casee, Maddy, Cassie, Addison, Gracie, Ridley and her nephews Jim (Ponmalar), Dan (Staci), Justin, Josh (Jessica), Alex, Andrew, Billy, Jordan, Lucas, Aran, Peyton, Gus and Maaran.

A visitation will be held on December 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a prayer service at 1:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford, Illinois 61108. A burial will be held immediately following at Calvary Cemetery in Winnebago. To send online condolences or share memories, please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com