Margaret A. Allen

Margaret (Margie) Ann was knit together in her mother’s womb and introduced to her parents, Gaylord & Madeline Frantz, on April 15, 1954 at Tulare District Hospital in Tulare, California. Margie lived in Tulare her entire life, except for one year when she was away at college. She went to elementary school at Buena Vista, graduated from Tulare Western High school in 1972, attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington on an academic scholarship, and eventually finished her education by graduating from Fresno State University. Margie met her husband, Tim, at Tulare Western High School. They had many classes together, played on the tennis team, and enjoyed doing projects together for the yearbook staff. They were only friends in high school, but often used projects for the yearbook as opportunities to get off campus together. The day before she was due to leave for college, Tim and Margie shared their first kiss; an innocent goodbye peck. They fell in love with each other in that moment. Their romance progressed quickly and they were married less than one year later, on August 17, 1973. They just recently celebrated their 42nd anniversary. Margie grew up on their family farm just outside Waukena, California. Like her sisters, Margie worked the farm, chopped cotton, helped their father irrigate crops, picked corn and sold it at their road side stand, as well as an array of other chores. After Margie married, she worked as a waitress and also enjoyed her job at a local pizza parlor. She was briefly employed at Superway Market with Tim as her boss. They decided that wasn’t the best situation, so Tim fired her. Margie loved to bring that up to pester him. Margie is best known as a teacher. She worked many years for the Tulare City School District as a sought-after substitute teacher. She taught several years full-time, but wanted to be available for her daughters. As a result, she gravitated back to substitute teaching to be able to spend more time with her family; however, the district would often convince her to take long-term sub positions. Each time, she said she was never going to take another position, but she could never say, “No!” When her daughters started having children, she decided it was time to retire from teaching so she could be available to care for her granddaughters. Margie was involved in 4-H, and the Jr. Women’s Club. She often volunteered as a room mother at Garden Elementary School or anywhere else her daughters were involved. She was an avid reader, loved to cook and bake, and she loved to host study groups in the home (which of course involved an array of foods and desserts). Margie never cared much for the mountains, but loved the coast and really enjoyed the opportunity to travel with Tim. Margie would tell you that the greatest day of her life was September 1, 1980, when she and Tim accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. She would tell you that her greatest joys in life came from her relationship to Jesus, her family and her church. She spent countless hours involved in activities at Grace Community Church, where Tim continues to be a pastor. She loved to attend her small group, to cook meals for church functions, encourage and pray with others, and to use her many gifts to serve others in countless ways. Margie is survived by her husband, Tim Allen and two daughters, Charisse Hastings and Nikki Cardoza. She loved her son-in-laws (whom she preferred to call sons-in-love), David Hastings and Zachary Cardoza, like they were her own sons. Margie has five granddaughters, whom she loved greatly: Emma, Madyson, and Riley Hastings and Ellie and Katelynn Cardoza. She is also survived by her mother, Madeline Frantz, three sisters, Beverly (Buzzy) Frantz, Virginia (Ginny) Welzenbach and Janet (Jan) Howison and her husband, Henry. Margie was blessed with many beloved nieces, nephews, and too many friends to mention. Margie is preceded in death by her father, Gaylord Jennings Frantz, and her grandmother, Polly Carpenter. Also, her “Uncle Bud” and “Auntie” Elvira Ghigo, who were not related by blood, but loved dearly and considered family. She often talked about seeing all of them again. Margie was a teacher, with the gift of hospitality and service. She loved doing special things for people. She was the perfect wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Her sweet, kind spirit, smile, and zany sense of humor will be missed by all who knew her. On the night of Saturday, October 24th, 2015, Margie closed her eyes for the last time. She opened her eyes in the presence of the Lord in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 25th. She was 61 years young.

Margaret A. Allen

April 15, 1954 - October 25, 2015