Allen, Joanne
ALLEN (Arnold), Joanne
Joanne Arnold Allen, a continuous, overflowing source of happiness, laughter and wit passed away quite unexpectedly at 70 on Sunday, November 21, 2021—still never having met a stranger. She follows her husband Dick, who passed 20 years and 20 days prior at 64.
All those lucky enough to have crossed paths with Joanne knew her contagious laugh, generous spirit and endearing authenticity. These were adorably paired with a pedantic adherence to proper grammar that she loudly and dutifully passed along to her loving children Kim (54) and Sean (51) while struggling to keep it silent in the presence of others. If she knew how to hold a grudge, one would be held over the intentional and appalling lack of serial commas in her obituary, boldly defying the "Team Oxford Comma" magnet not-so-subtly displayed on her car for years.
One of the greatest joys of her life was helping and watching her five grandchildren grow, all of whom called her Mayme. Kim's son Daniel (22) and Sean's daughter Sydney (now married to Eduardo Hernandez, both 23) were the first two to benefit from the doting and devotion she showered on her "grands." The next lucky group, that she lovingly called the "littles," were Sean and Andrea's (39) kids Zoe (11), Max (9) and Chase (9). A devastating tragedy of Mayme's early departure is the time they all won't have together. She absolutely adored each of them, and they all are pretty sure she hung the moon—and not just because she always greeted them with bags of mints. Mayme was a constant source of strength, comfort and joy.
Other than what she had for breakfast and where her glasses might currently be, she could immediately recall any detail of her amazing life and those close to her. Born in LaGrange, Georgia to Joe Taylor and Mary Frances Arnold (both deceased), she grew up fighting with, irritating (by doing stunningly creative things like publicly putting mustard in her Pepsi), being embarrassed by, and ultimately cherishing her sister Marigene Arnold (75), now married to Mary Harper, with their children Samuel (29) and Elizabeth (29) Harper.
An early step on her path to greatness was attending Auburn University (War Damn Eagle) where she pledged Alpha Delta Pi, got into all kinds of good trouble, and started a series of lifelong friendships. After graduating, she left the loveliest village on the plains and found her way to IBM where she had a very successful and lauded career in a number of different areas of the business. It's where she met Dick (plus Kim and Sean), moved to Rivermont, found Mt. Pisgah, joined the choir, became a huge fan of the often-disappointing Braves, and continued to amass a staggeringly large group of dear friends owing to her magnetic personality and kindness. She loved cards and games, traveling, mission trips to Haiti, spending time in Chattanooga, her dog Roxie (deceased), singing with and for friends, simply enjoying the company of others, and "watching" TV shockingly loud while she did a thousand other things around the house like building puzzles or agonizing over something she said or did that she just didn't feel right about earlier that day. An unnecessary apology text normally followed.
Joanne lived a phenomenal life that was richly deserved—but had so much more to give and get. She will forever be remembered as a kind-spirited soul whose love knew no bounds. We will gather to celebrate her extraordinary and meaningful life on December 5th, 2:00P at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in Johns Creek, her church home for almost four decades. A reception will immediately follow in the narthex. All are encouraged to bring a special memory to share as they sign the guest book. She loved colorful clothes, so please feel free to dress in honor of that for her service.
Charitable by nature, Joanne spent many years at The Summit Counseling Center. She believed so much in the mission there that she volunteered (and/or partied) at their fundraising events often. The family, therefore, humbly requests any intended memorial donations be made to summitcounseling.org/give.
War Eagle. Go Braves. Be Kind. We'll all be waiting by the phone for our apology text because leaving so soon is simply not okay.
