Melba Frances Allen Melba Frances Allen, loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend passed away March 9, 2000. She was born June 11, 1923, to Leonard J. and Agatha H. Gantz in Los Angeles, CA. In 1935 the family moved to Algona, WA. where she graduated from Auburn High School in 1940. During World War II she worked for Boeing Aircraft company. In 1948 she married Joseph C. Allen and they made their home in Tacoma, WA. She worked for the Laundry and Dry Cleaners Union of Tacoma for a long time and retired as secretary/treasurer of the local in 1975. She is survived by her son, Steve Allen, grandson, Jake; and daughter-in-law, Jody, of Plain, WA.; one sister, Dorothy McGuire, of Vancouver, WA.; and one brother, Leonard Gantz, of Auburn, WA., and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, husband and one sister. Funeral services at Price-Helton Funeral Home Wednesday, March 15, 2000, at 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow in the Mountain View Cemetery, Auburn, Washington. Remembrances in her name suggested to Franciscan Hospice of Tacoma. Pub Date: 3/12/2000 Tacoma News Tribune