Kathleen Thomas Allan's Obituary
Kathleen Thomas Allan (Kay) passed away quietly on Sunday, June 18th after leading an adventurous life on multiple continents.
Kathleen Margaret Thomas was born at a British hospital in Karachi, India (now in Pakistan) in 1933 to Major Richard E. Thomas and Katie Rosetta Helms. She lived in India until she was 12, attending a boarding school for five years. Upon moving to England, she attended another boarding school and later a grammar school. Her family was on the last ship passing through the Mediterranean Sea not bombed by the Germans during the outset of WWII.
When her father finished his military career, her family found a house in West Bergholt, a pig and chicken farm on 10 acres. She lived there during her high school years and eventually got a job with the British Weather Forecasting Office. It was during this time that she met Ronald Bleach, and they got married. Their first child, Graham, was born in England, and after the family immigrated to New Zealand, Philip and Sue followed. The couple separated when Sue was three. Ron took Graham with him back to England. Phil and Sue stayed behind in New Zealand.
After the separation, Kay attended and graduated from Ardmore Teachers College and taught elementary and high school for almost four years before coming to the United States on a student visa with Phil and Sue. She received a bachelor’s degree in earth science from BYU in 1974 and spent the next four years earning a PhD in instructional psychology specializing in designing curriculum. She wrote two books on the subject including Research & the Analysis of Research Hypotheses.
When she became a U.S. citizen in 1984, she was allowed to choose any legal name. She picked Kathleen Thomas Allan, taking on her brother’s first name as her new last name.
After her retirement, she devotedly worked on family history, which she thoroughly enjoyed, completing genealogy dating back to 1598. She also loved to play video games; Final Fantasy was her favorite. Many of her grandkids affectionately called her their Nintendo Gramma. Her other hobbies included reading science fiction and fantasy novels, working on puzzles, and cross stitching.
Kay is survived by son Philip (Pam), daughter Sue (Keith), 13 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild at last count. She is preceded in death by her parents, son Graham, brother Allan, sister Anne, and granddaughter Carley.
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