Lorie Hester Allen

Lorie Hester Allen, age 80, went home to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, November 14, 2021, after a long battle with Alzheimer's dementia disease. She was a resident of Fayetteville, Georgia.

Lorie and her twin sister Marie were born on July 4, 1941, in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, to her parents, Tom and Carrie Julia Wilson Hester. She attended Calhoun Falls Elementary School and graduated from Wright High School in Abbeville, South Carolina, in 1962. She grew up in Glovers AME Church in which her Hester and Wilson families were members. After high school, Lorie moved to Chicago to live with her older sister Mable. In 1966 she returned home and married her high school sweetheart, John Larry Allen.   Larry was hired by the Charleston Naval Shipyard that same year, so he and Lorie moved to Charleston, South Carolina. It was there that she gave birth to her three daughters Delores, Marlene, and Johnette.

In 1984, Larry transferred his employment to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and moved Lorie and their daughters to Kingsland, Georgia. By then the girls were older, so Lorie decided to embark on a career for herself. Lorie was hired by Kings Bay Naval Base's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department (MWR) as a deli cook for the Naval Enlisted club. Her cooking talents were so impressive that she was sent to Washington, DC to complete a professional cooking certification program after which she was promoted to a professional cook for the Naval Officers’ Club. She continued to cook there for several years. This career was very fulfilling for her because she loved to cook and bake, particularly for special events and holidays.  Eventually Lorie was offered a civil service position as a Gear Issue Clerk at the Kings Bay Gym. She fell in love with this position as it allowed her to continue her interactions with the sailors and their families who all came to know and respect her as “Ms. Lorie.”  

Lorie was a devout Christian and an active member of the Churches of Christ congregations in Charleston, SC, Jacksonville, FL and St. Marys, GA.  After retiring in July 2003, she balanced raising her new baby granddaughter Jorie while regularly attending weekly ladies’ bible study classes.  In 2017, she and her family relocated to Fayetteville, Georgia, after their home suffered damage from Hurricane Irma.  In May 2018, Lorie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia. God saw fit to allow her family to care for her in the comfort of her home, where she remained until her passing.

Lorie is survived by her loving husband, John Larry Allen; her daughters, Delores Ann Allen (fiancé Eugene Piquion), Marlene Denise Allen Ahmed (Irfan), and Johnette Marie Allen Khandaker (Masud) and a step daughter-in-law S. Renee Jenkins. She also leaves her sister Paulette Davis (William, Jr) her granddaughter Jorie Marlena Lonnette McKee of the home; her stepson R. Kelly Bryant (Deborah); and three step-grandchildren, Rakheem Jenkins (Michelle), Bria Bryant-Wiley (Darius) and Kelly A. Bryant; her step sisters Cora Bell Tillman and Sarah Harper and a host of neices, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her mother Carrie Hester and father Tom Hester; sisters Evelena Johnson, Mable Walker, and her twin sister Marie Hester; brother Charles Hester; and stepson Randy Jenkins.

Graveside services for Lorie will be held 1:00PM on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at Glovers A.M.E. Church Cemetery, Calhoun Falls, SC.  Public viewing will be held on Friday, November 26, 2021 2-6 pm at the funeral home.  The family will be at the home of Verna Dean Bryant, 211 Lee Street, Calhoun Falls.  Online condolences can be made at www.richiefuneralhome.com.  Service entrusted to Richie Funeral Home, Inc.

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