Dolores Lavin Allen

(Maria Dolores Lavin Iturbe)

October 23, 1929 - April 26, 2024

Dolores was born to Maria del Carmen Iturbe Garcia and Jose Lavin Aranda on October 23, 1929 near Mexico City. She was the third of eight children. After her mother died when she was 12, she helped her older sister raise their younger siblings. She went to secretarial school at 16 and learned shorthand. She eventually got a job in the Mayor's office in Cuernavaca where she worked for several years. One day she was having lunch

outside and encountered a group of U.S. Army soldiers on leave. One asked her if they could take a picture with her and another, shyer member of the group took the picture and asked for her address so he could send it to her. This man was named John C. Allen.

They proceeded to exchange letters and saw each other another 4 times over the course of the next year before getting married. They lived in a few small Oregonian towns before finally settling down in Seattle. There, Dolores learned English and how to cook apple pie. They raised their twin daughters there and watched their seven grandchildren grow up. They lived in Seattle until 2004 when they relocated to Richland, Washington. There they lived a mile and a half away from one of their daughters. Dolores focused on perfecting various types of flowers in their backyard and teaching her grandchildren

how to sew, crochet and knit. She taught the majority of her grandchildren some Spanish but mostly conversed with everyone in English for the entire 60 years she lived in the United States. She died in Richland, Washington the night of April 26, 2024,

outliving her husband by about seven months. She is survived by her daughters Janice Olsen (Daniel), Vivienne Alpaugh (Thom) and grandchildren Sarah, Spencer, Samuel, Kelsey, Jennifer and Mollie. Her youngest granddaughter Mia is waiting to meet her at the Pearly Gates with a cheeky Spanish greeting. She is also survived by her two youngest brothers, Pepe and Carlos, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins all around the North American continent.