Barbara Louise Allen, née Buchanan, 86, of Chapel Hill, NC, died peacefully at home on July 2, 2012. Born in Middletown, Ohio, to Frank and Helen Buchanan, she was one of two daughters.

Barbara married John Allen in 1946. She graduated cum laude from Miami University of Ohio in 1948, and pursued employment at Armco Steel in Middletown, Ohio, prior to having children. She was a skilled pianist, sang in the church choir, played tennis and golf for many years, and loved to travel. For 33 years, she and her family resided in Wheaton, Illinois. Having survived breast cancer in the seventies, she subsequently served as a volunteer and volunteer coordinator for Reach to Recovery in Wheaton for over ten years. Barbara retired with her husband to Naples, Florida and Hendersonville, NC, before moving to the Cedars of Chapel Hill retirement community in Chapel Hill in 2004.

She is survived by: her husband, John Reed Allen; daughter, Beverly Allen of Raleigh; son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Mary Allen of Carrboro; son, Thomas Michael Allen of Berlin, Germany; grandsons, Christopher Allen (and his wife Alison Kobayashi) of New York, Andrew Allen and Sean Allen of California; sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Richard Lyons of Ohio; nieces, Kim Milliron and Michele Hutchison of Ohio, and nephews, Craig and Rick Lyons of Ohio, along with several great nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

The family would like to thank the staff, caregivers, and medical personnel at the Cedars for all their kindness, attentiveness, and support.