Virginia Allen Obituary

Born in Norwood, MA, Virginia (Nuttall) Allen, 95, died on October 14, 2024 in New London, CT. She was the daughter of the late Joseph V. and Matilda Immaculata Nuttall.
She grew up in a loving family with two older sisters, a younger sister and brother. A graduate of Norwood High School and Windham Secretarial School, Virginia was a voracious reader and talented writer and photographer throughout her life, working for the publisher, Little Brown and Co. and as an editor and writer for the magazine of the insurance company, Liberty Mutual.
She fell in love with James W. Allen and the two were married in 1958. They lived in Scituate, MA, then spent several years in Germany where her husband was serving in the Army. They raised six children. Virginia worked in a variety of jobs including recreation coordinator for Preston, CT, their hometown, where she created youth programs in art and swimming and was director of the Voluntary Action Program in Norwich, CT. She worked as a spokeswoman for the Connecticut State Police and the CT Department of Developmental Services, helping the agency transform the lives of many people with disabilities. Virginia was a devoted Roman Catholic, teaching catechism in Preston and Westerly, RI. She was active in town and Democratic Party politics.
Virginia and her husband moved to Westerly in 1994 where Virginia freelanced for the Westerly Sun, writing features that celebrated the people and places of Westerly. A great lover of the ocean, Virginia spent many days with her husband walking and swimming at the beaches of Westerly and Maine, a state they loved to explore. She poured her immense love into her family, was a wonderful mother, wife, aunt, sister, grandmother and neighbor.
After the death of her beloved husband in 2016, Virginia moved in 2019 to Stoneridge, a senior living community in Mystic, CT. Here she quickly made good friends, helped create the Tree Trail, a guide to notable trees and gardens for residents and their visitors, and wrote for and edited the Crow's Nest, the community's journal, penning stories, poems and helping edit many pieces. Wherever Virginia lived, she found new ways to strengthen her community.
Virginia is survived by her children, James and partner Rachel, Toronto; Monica and spouse Marie-Christine, Silver Spring, MD; David and spouse Fumio, Staten Island, NY; Daniel and spouse Nadezhda, Queens, NY; Tony and spouse Reina, Montclair, N.J.; and Teresa (Allen) Jefferson and spouse Jeff, Cranston, RI; and seven grandchildren, Liam, Finnian, Lucy, Sophia, Kai, Thomas, and Grace. She is survived by her sister, Grace Rooney of Framingham, and 23 nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 11 AM at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 60 Liberty St, Pawcatuck, CT 06379, followed by the burial at River Bend Cemetery, Westerly. A reception will follow. Gaffney-Dolan Funeral Home, 59 Spruce St., Westerly is in charge of the arrangements. For online condolences please visit www.gaffneydolanfuneralhome.com
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Edmund's Retreat, www.endersisland.org or the Student Diplomacy Corps, www.sdcorps.org