Allegra A. Howie

ALLEGRA ANN HOWIE (warmly known as Peanut due to her small size at birth) was born on January 17, 1943 in Baltimore, MD to the late Willie Cleo and Mary Elizabeth (Blackman) Howie. She quietly transitioned to be with her Heavenly Father during the early morning hours of February 11, 20117. Allegra was the eighth of nine children. She was preceded in death by her siblings Estelle Clark, Lonnie Howie, Donald Howie and Bernadine Howie. Allegra received her early education in the Baltimore City Public School System. She was accepted into Western Senior High School. In 1960, her graduating class was the first to complete Western's four-year program. Soon after graduating, she furthered her education at Morgan State College (now known as Morgan State University) and held various jobs to include working at Lafayette Bowling Alley helping to keep accurate records for the owner. While enrolled at Morgan she studied numerous business and clerical courses, which enabled her in 1962 to embark on a career in government working with the United States Army at Fort G. Meade in Maryland. While working with the U.S. Army, Allegra held many positions staring as a secretary for various Command Sergeant Majors and Colonels. Gaining a reputation as "holding her own", she earned a wealth of respect for her vast knowledge of regulations and procedures. Through the years at Fort Meade, Allegra became a fast tracker that allowed her to become a Management and Program Analyst working and traveling with the Department of Defense and the Department of Logistics. These duties afforded her the opportunity to travel to many military installations while overseeing budgets and contracts with the Inner Service Support Agreement's Program for the installation. Allegra's hard work, dedication and passion for her job, led to the vast improvements that are seen today at Fort Meade. Allegra received many awards and acts of recognition for her outstanding performance. She worked diligently until her retirement on November 3, 2000. Allegra loved reading and was an avid wordsmith. There was never a puzzle too big or too small for her to handle. It was during family gatherings where you could see her skills playing games such as Scrabble, Boggle, and Perquackey. The list goes on and on. The greatest challenge for players was trying to defeat her in "Words with Friends". She also loved catching up with her sister each day with the early morning telephone calls. However, persons knew never to call her between 12:30pm-2:00pm since that was soap opera time. Most of all, Allegra enjoyed spending quality time with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Allegra accepted her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Wayland Baptist Church. As a faithful servant throughout the years, she studied and participated in countless church activities which ultimately led to completing the Teacher Training Course. She was a teacher in the Primary-Junior Department of the Church School and the Children Church. Teacher of the Children's Class in the Church Wide Institute and the Junior Class in Vacation Bible School. She also, volunteered with the Children's Community Christmas Party by wrapping all gifts, preparing the coloring booklets for Black History, Resurrection Sunday and Christmas. She became a resource volunteer for the Urban Ministries' annual Vacation Bible School workshop held in Baltimore, Maryland, and was a proofreader for the Wayland's Women's Day Souvenir Booklet. Allegra also looked forward to listening to church services each Sunday via telephone. Even though she was physically limited, she remained a dedicated worker for the Lord Jesus Christ. Allegra's memory is shared by: her daughter, Kimberlyn Ann Gross; son-in-law, Aaron A. Gross Sr.; grandson, Aaron A. Gross Jr. (Boobie); granddaughter, Aarcia M. Gross; special niece, Paulette L. Howie; sistes, Odessa Howie-Coates (Johnny) and Ida Shirley Howie-Wright; brothes, Michael B. Howie (Anne) and James Howie; sister in-law, Alba Howie; nieces, Elisa Howie, Kim-Howie-Downs, Felicia Wright, Margaret Ann Howie and Donna Bridges (Donald); nephews, Michael Howie Jr., (Rochelle), Dale Clark, Myron Howie, (Jules), Mark Howie; god-daughter Nicole Camp; and a host of great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews and many faithful friends.

Tributes

Allegra A. Howie

January 17, 1943 - February 11, 2017