Allene Luella Hartman

Allene Luella Hartman was born to parents George and Mary Hartman at Otis, Kan., on Nov. 6, 1924. She grew up on the family farm and attended public school in town.

During World War II, Boeing had plants in different towns and after graduating from high school in 1942, Allene worked as a "Rosie the Riveter" gal at one plant located in nearby LaCrosse, Kan.

The LaCrosse plant closed after the war and it was at that time that Allene acquired a job as a nurse's aid at the hospital in LaCrosse. While dining out after work with some coworkers, she met Ronald Nichols of Pratt, Kan., who was employed in the area as an oil driller. They dated for a while and married in Natrona, Kan., on June 7, 1947. Ronald's work in the oil fields led them to live in eleven different states.

In Pratt in 1957, they adopted 17-month old twin boys Warren and Loren. The family then moved to Louisiana for a year before heading west to Eureka, Nev., and thereafter Elko, where they lived for six years.

Allene worked at Elko General Hospital and it was then that she began training to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. She had to cut that short due to another job transfer for Ronald that saw the family moving to Moses Lake in August 1966.

Allene began working at Samaritan Hospital and in 1971 finished the training she'd begun earlier, acquiring her Licensed Practical Nursing certificate. She worked for many years at Samaritan as an LPN until her retirement. Mrs. Nichols enjoyed spending time with family and friends, watching sporting events on TV and going to yard sales and thrift shops.

Allene passed away Nov. 16, 2014 at the hospital she served for so many years. She had reached her 90th birthday just ten days earlier. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother and sister; by son Warren in 2011 and husband Ronald earlier this year. She is survived by son Loren, grandchildren Lindsay, Jennifer and Zachary and great-grandchildren Elam and Zahra.

Please sign the online guestbook or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are in care of Kayser's Chapel & Crematory.