Betty L. Allen (Rothfuss)

Betty attended Collins Center School through Eighth Grade and then graduated from Springville-Griffith Institute High School at the age of 16 in 1955.

She moved to Monticello, NY to work as a telephone operator and held the same job when she returned home to Gowanda. It was through this job that she met her future husband, Jack D. Allen. Jack drove the local taxi, ambulance and tow truck and Betty dispatched the calls. Eventually, he wanted to meet the voice from the radio. Jack and Betty married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gowanda on August 23, 1958. They remained lifelong local residents and raised their three daughters here.

While a homemaker Betty learned bookkeeping to assist Jack in his many business ventures, she babysat and then worked as a Teacher’s Aide at the Gowanda Elementary School once the girls were in school all day. Part-time work for the Lutheran Digest allowed her to travel to visit family and friends in NY, PA, MD, WV & VA while securing advertisements. Betty found her dream job when she combined her love of driving and children and became a school bus driver. To get paid to spend time with children; singing, pulling a tooth for a First Grader or driving a sport team to an away event was priceless to her. Decades of students can attest to the homemade holiday gifts she gave, end of year treats and all the baked goods she took on sports runs. She drove for Gowanda Central and North Collins School Districts and for the Seneca Nation. Her last bus run may have been June of 2019, but she talked about her “bus kids” all the time.

Always supporting her daughter’s interests, she helped charter Sugar & Spice 4-H Club in Perrysburg; her love of 4-H coming from her years as a Collins Center Corkerette. Betty was also active as a GCS Band Booster, PTA member and sewed costumes, donated props and attended nearly every Gowanda school theater/musical production.

Betty never met a stranger and that was never more true than when she became involved in the high school exchange program AFS. She helped with fundraising, recruiting host families, welcoming incoming students and hosting them. It’s not clear who gained more in these international pairings; the students who she drove, fed and supported or Betty who soon had “family” all over the globe. Through her AFS family she visited Italy, Belgium, Tunisia and The Netherlands numerous times and continued to travel with family and friends on river cruises, car trips and ocean liners. To celebrate her 80th birthday Betty took her daughters on a cruise to the Bahamas and Cuba.

Happiest doing for others was her hallmark; gathering signatures for petitions, driving a friend to the airport, taking soup to neighbors, sewing alterations, making baked goods for a fund raiser or securing election day polling staff.

Betty was born into the Gowanda Immanuel Lutheran Church family and was a faithful member for over seventy years and several years ago she transferred to her mother’s childhood church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Eden where she loved bible study and Tuesday quilting. Betty was a member of Tri-Hi-Y, a high school sorority, Collins Center Alumni Association, Collins Historical Society, Collins Republican Party, she was a Red Hatter and belonged to two Home Bureaus. She volunteered at the Love, Inc., Kevin Guest House, North Collins Food Pantry, Erie County Board of Elections, Betty drove and delivered Meals-on-Wheels for over 45 years. There was no one that supported or yelled louder at any GCS school athletic event or a Buffalo Bills game!

Lovingly called Boop or Grandma Boop, she is much beloved and survived by daughters, Cathleen Allen of Hamburg, NY and Julianne Allen of Charlottesville, VA, Olfa Bouhachem Benabid of Tunsia and son Alberto Padavan of Italy. Grandchildren Sarah (Joseph) Schubbe, of Elma, NY, Jared Wygant (currently serving in the U.S. Navy) in Virginia Beach, VA, Brooks Berueffy of Cincinnatti, OH, Coleman Berueffy of Nashville, TN, Turner Berueffy of Portland, ME, Salena (Law Clark) Brouwer of Leesville, LA, and Lenora Brouwer of Charlottesville, VA. Great Grandchildren Sadie Wygant and Jackson Schubbe. Sisters Carol (Jerome) Coben of Los Angeles, CA, Susan (Donald) Sorensen of Sequim, WA, brother-in-law Brock Eichenhofer of Philadelphia, PA, and many cherished nieces, nephews and cousins, friends and her AFS family around the world. She was preceded in death by her parents John and Ida Rothfuss, husband Jack, brother John A. Rothfuss, daughter Laura Allen Haberer and AFS son Roberto Maccioni.

Honoring her wishes Betty’s last act of kindness and sharing came as an organ donor. Burial will be private, and a celebration reception is planned for a later date. Burial next to husband Jack in the Pine Hill Cemetery Gowanda. ARRANGEMENTS BY SCHINDLER FUNERAL HOME 44 Center St. Gowanda , NY

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Jack D. Allen Memorial Scholarship fund, assisting a local adult learner to attend Erie Community College, established by Betty in her husband’s honor (ECC Foundation, 121 Ellicott St., Room 160, Buffalo, NY 14203 with notation “Jack D. Allen Scholarship”) or The Laura Allen Haberer Travel Scholarship supporting travel opportunities for special needs travelers through People & Places, Inc., an agency where daughters Cathleen and Laura volunteered (76 Riley St., East Aurora, NY 14052 with notation “Laura Allen Haberer Scholarship”).

Mostly Betty would want everyone to stay safe and make good choices.