Wanda Israelsen Allen

Wanda Israelsen Allen of Orem, Utah died on Thursday, April 6th at 8:05 pm. She was in her home with family members by her side.
Wanda was born in Logan, Utah on February 20, 1936. She was the tenth of 11 children born to Eva May Butler and Victor E. Israelsen. She was followed minutes later by her twin sister Wanee. They became lifelong best friends.
On November 25, 1959 she married Dell K. Allen of Cove, Utah in the Logan LDS temple. They have five sons, three daughters, thirty-five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, with three more on the way. Her family was the joy of her life.
Wanda loved learning. She graduated from South Cache High School in 1954 and from Utah State in 1958 in Child Development, where she was the valedictorian of the College of Family Living. She taught 3rd grade at Lewiston Elementary and at the Adams School in Logan. She loved running into her students in later years; many said she was their favorite teacher.
She grew up on a dairy farm in North Logan. She did well in school, and especially loved softball. Learning to play the piano was the best thing that ever happened to her musically speaking. Both she and Wanee taught piano lessons throughout their high school and college years. She also loved singing in both school and church choirs, and gospel music was a big part of her life and spiritual growth. In later years, she loved serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Utah Festival Opera Company.
As a young woman, just days after calling off her first engagement, her co-teacher at Ethyl Leavitt at Lewison Elementary showed her a photograph of Dell Allen. “I’ve found your husband for you!” she said. When Wanda asked, “What do I do now?” Ethyl replied, “He’s on a mission in New Zealand and the rest is up to you.”
She wrote to Dell twice before he came home, then arranged to hear him report his mission at stake conference in Richmond. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley was the visiting authority. After the meeting, the stake president said “Elder Allen, I’d like you to meet Sister Israelsen.” They went on a wonderful first date and even discussed the subject of marriage. They were engaged 9 days later.
Dell and Wanda lived briefly in Salt Lake, then moved to Provo and Orem for Dell’s thirty-five year career as a professor at BYU. He retired in 1995 and they built their dream log home in North Logan, on four acres that Wanda had inherited as part of the family’s Buttercup Dairy Farm. This brought Wanda back near her mother and her siblings. For years, she and her brothers and sisters--all in their 70s and 80s--met weekly to write a 600 page book about their parents, titled “A Lasting Legacy.” After fifteen years in North Logan, Dell and Wanda moved back to Orem to be closer to their grandchildren.
Wanda loved teaching the gospel and serving in any calling she was given. She served in many Relief Society, Sunday School, and music callings. She and Dell served a mission to Kennewick Washington, where they served in the office and did public relations.
She loved visitors and visiting. Many of her children’s school friends called her “Mom.” They loved coming to the house for homemade bread and visits. She was always baking fresh loaves of bread for neighbors and friends.
She loved family gatherings. If she ever left the room, she always said, “Now don’t say anything interesting while I’m gone, because I don’t want to miss a thing.”
She loved writing and good books, and enjoyed the book groups that she participated in for decades. She recorded every important thing in her wonderful journals. She loved writing letters and emails to missionaries and family members. She often sent family members excerpts of her journal entries of important events from earlier in their lives. Her family always knew they mattered more to her than anything else.
In recent years, as her health declined, she looked forward mostly to two things: editing her family newsletter, and teaching gospel doctrine. The newsletter included entries and updates from children and grandchildren. The gospel doctrine lesson she was preparing for the Cascade 1st Ward for April 9th was entitled “This Generation Shall Have My Word Through You.” It is still open on her computer. Wanda deeply loved the Savior Jesus Christ and His gospel, as restored by Joseph Smith and as found in the Book of Mormon.
In her final visit with her twin sister Wanee, on the morning of April 6th, Wanda smiled and said, “Soon I’ll be singing with the Tabernacle Choir every week.”
The family can now picture heaven, as described by a granddaughter, with “Grandma” at the top of the stairs, arms open wide, with a loving smile on her face, waiting for a hug.
Wanda is survived by her husband Dell; son Curt (Lara) of Provo; son Mark of Orem; daughter Melody (Brad) Pelo of New York City; daughter Heidi (Mike) Hendricks of Elberta; son Paul (Christy) of Provo; son Don of Provo; daughter RoMay of Orem; son Rob of Frenchtown, Montana.
Funeral services will be held Friday, April 14th, 2017, at 12 pm at the LDS chapel at 450 E. Center Street in Orem, UT, 84097. Viewings will be held Thursday, April 13th, from 6:30-8:30 pm, at the same location, and from 10:00-11:30 am on Friday.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 15th, 2017, at 12 pm in North Logan at 1105 E. 2100 N, at the building her “Daddy” built and where he served as bishop for 12 years. A viewing will be held Saturday morning from 10:00-11:30 am. Interment will be at the North Logan Memorial Park & Cemetery on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Missionary Fund or Humanitarian Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.