Marjorie Allen
Marjorie Allen, 89,
Deering and former long-
time Minot resident and
educator, died Monday,
September 20, 2021 in a
Salem, OR care center.
Marjorie Allen was
born in 1932 to Arnold
and Alice Thorpe of
Antler, ND. Her family
lived on a nearby farm
during her earliest years
but later moved into the
town itself. Her father
purchased the prominent
building at the center of
the town square where
they made their home.
Marjorie attended school
in Antler and graduated
with three other girls in
her class.
Marjorie faced many
challenges as a young girl,
including a
life-threatening bout with
rheumatic fever, through
all of which she became a
woman of noteworthy
resilience. But there were
happy times too. Marjorie
enjoyed lasting friend-
ships, worked for a while
at the Antler hotel’s ice
cream shop, and delighted
in occasional town dances
with live music provided
by traveling orchestras.
One very important ex-
perience for her was at-
tending a local Bible camp
where she met Jesus.
Though her faith was not
much affirmed in those
early days, it was genuine
and set Marjorie on a path
filled with blessings.
While still in high
school, Marjorie met War-
ren Allen, her future hus-
band, who served for a
short time as superinten-
dent of the Antler school
system. They were mar-
ried in a country church
near Antler on a very hot
August afternoon. Their
marriage would thrive un-
til Warren’s death at the
age of 96, over six decades
later.
For a country girl from
a remote prairie town,
Marjorie achieved remark-
able things. She not only
graduated from college
but later, as a mother of
two teenaged kids, earned
her graduate degree in En-
glish from Sacramento
State University. Her gra-
duate thesis was on
Beatrix Potter, the English
writer and illustrator who
was best known for her
children’s books featuring
animals, such as The Tale
of Peter Rabbit. Marjorie
herself taught children’s
literature at Minot State
University for many
years. She was also a met-
iculous writing instructor,
laboring long hours over
student essays as she
worked to teach her
young charges how to arti-
culate their thoughts with
precision and clarity.
Throughout her mar-
ried life, Marjorie faithful-
ly loved and served her
husband and children.
After the Mouse River
flood of 2011 when they
lost their home just out-
side of Minot, she and
Warren moved to his
family’s homestead in
Deering. She became an
integral part of that com-
munity, trekking six days
a week (at her husband’s
insistence) to the town’s
cafe for lunch with the lo-
cals whom they so appre-
ciated. The townsfolk ap-
preciated them back and
included Marjorie among
the honored citizens.
After her husband died
in 2017, Marjorie moved
to Oregon to be near her
two children and their
families. She was able to
return to Deering for a few
weeks over a couple of
summers before her
health made the trip too
difficult. Even so, she
never forgot (or let her
kids forget) that Deering
was her home and always
where she wanted most to
be.
Marjorie will be laid to
rest next to her husband
at a little cemetery just
outside of Deering. For
her family who survive
her, this little patch of
land on the vast northern
plains will always be sa-
cred ground until the day
the earth is made new and
we shall see each other
again face to face.
Her loving family in-
cludes: children Fred
(Sonia) Allen of Salem,
OR; daughter Jo (Alden)
Swan, of Keizer, OR;
grandchildren Hannah,
Charles, Jesse, and Joseph
(Fred’s children) and Elli-
ot, Isaiah, and Elizabeth
(Jo’s children); great
grandchildren, Riley and
Nora Jo Swan; and Wes-
ton and Emma (Allen)
Brooks.
Public Graveside ser-
vice: Monday, October 18,
2021 at 1:00 p.m. in Beth-
el Cemetery, Deering ND.
Visitation: At the
family’s request there will
not be a viewing, however
friends may sign a
memorial register book on
Sunday, October 17th
from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in
Thomas Family Funeral
Home, Minot.
Memorials: preferred
to Bethel Cemetery of
Deering.
Those wishing to sign
the online memorial regis-
ter or share memories are
invited to use the expres-
sions of sympathy section
at (www.thomas
familyfuneralhome.com)