Charlotte S. Allen, 89, co-owner of coal firm

Charlotte Scott Allen was born on a Burlington County dairy farm, and helped milk her family's cows through her elementary and into her high school years.

"She was always proud to be a farm girl," daughter Judith Misoyianis said. "She liked to be out, to be outdoors."

On Wednesday, March 4, Mrs. Allen, 89, of Vincentown, a former part-owner of Allen Coal Co. there, died of heart failure at Virtua Health & Rehabilitation Center in Lumberton.

Born in Vincentown, Mrs. Allen graduated from Pemberton Borough High School in 1943. She was a cheerleader and a member of the field hockey team.

For a few years before she married in 1946, she worked at Allen Coal.

"She was shoveling coal" onto a conveyor belt, which dumped it into trucks, her daughter said. "We do have a picture of her, in her overalls, back in the coal bin.

"It's a business my father's father started in 1919 - Harry T. Allen Sr. - and then passed on to my father, Harry T. Allen Jr. It's still in operation, as Allen's Oil & Propane."

In the early 1960s, Mrs. Allen worked preparing and serving food for public school students in Vincentown.

And in the early 1970s, she worked for the wholesaler Medford Nursery.

"She would be down on her hands and knees, planting all the plants," her daughter said.

Mrs. Allen was a member of Vincentown United Methodist Church and later of Buddtown United Methodist Church and, among others, the Southampton Historical Society and the ladies auxiliary of the Vincent Fire Company.

But, her daughter said, she was especially proud of being a member of the Vincentown Grange for over 75 years, as well as of its state and national affiliates.

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Allen is survived by sons Walter, Ronald, and Roger; daughter Barbara Pratt; two sisters; 14 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1998.

A viewing was set for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 12, at Perinchief Chapels, 438 High St., Mount Holly, before an 11 a.m. funeral service there, with interment in Vincentown Baptist Cemetery.

Donations may be sent to Buddtown United Methodist Church, 520 Ridge Rd, Vincentown, N.J. 08088.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.perinchief.com.