Obituary of Marthe A. Allen

November 27, 1925 December 5, 2014 Marthe Aline Allen, 89 years old, passed from this life with dignity and grace, surrounded by her family. Marthe is joining her beloved husband of 46 years, James Allen. She was a fourteen year resident of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads in Falls Church, Virginia. Marthe, known to family and friends as Martine, was born in Lille, France to Marcial and Germaine Loehler. She was the youngest of four girls. Martine married James (Jim) A. Allen, a US Naval Officer, on December 27, 1954 in Marseille, France. At the time, she was a secretary at the American Consulate General in Marseille and Jim was an Admiral’s Aide on deployment in the Mediterranean. They met at the Consulate, were married not long thereafter, and moved to Charleston, SC, as Jim continued his Naval career. Martine enjoyed all that life had to offer. As a Navy wife, she traveled to many countries where she studied various crafts and artistic styles. Martine began her art training in Japan where she became certified to teach Sogetsu Ikebana. While in Turkey, she studied the art of Batik at the Indonesian Consulate. Martine studied drawing and watercolor in the United States and silk painting while living in Brussels, Belgium. Upon returning to the U.S., she studied printmaking and photography. In the late 1970s, as one of the original ‘artists-in residence’ at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, she operated Fibre, Inc. with five other women. In addition to the artistic talents already mentioned, Martine was a loving mother, expert homemaker, chef extraordinaire, skilled seamstress, travel buff, party planner, designer, and avid gardener. In the mid 1980s, Martine obtained her Residential Real Estate license and worked in Washington State. Later, she and Jim opened and operated “C’est Moo!”, a gourmet ice cream shop in Seattle, Washington and participated in a number of area food fairs. Martine is survived by her two daughters, Christine Curto of Bethesda, MD and Kathleen Gillette of Burke, VA; as well as her four grandchildren, Ryan and Colleen Curto, and Ian and Connor Gillette. A Graveside Service and interment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA on February 9, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Marthe Allen’s name to Goodwin House Foundation (GHF) at https://www.goodwinhouse.org/goodwin-house-foundation/.