Rhea Allard

Rhea Allard

December 13th, 2021

DELAND — Rhea Allard 96, passed away peacefully on December 13th, 2021. She was born in Lynn, MA on June 10th, 1925, and grew up in Springfield and Holyoke, MA. She was educated and greatly influenced by the Sisters of Providence. She met and married the love of her life, Raymond, when he returned from service in WWII, Army Air Corp.

They raised four children together and their family was their greatest pride. Rhea loved reading to her children and was a wonderful seamstress, making things like winter coats when they were children to wedding dresses and even a tent for Christopher. Many an Easter Sunday one could find Rhea sewing buttons on coats as the family went out the door to Mass.

Rhea worked in Quality Control in the local Armory inspecting Rifles during the War. In much later years she visited Alaska to watch the start of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race and sled down frozen driveways. She was a great cook, always trying new recipes and amazing her friends and family with delicious though bizarre-sounding tomato soup cake.

When Rhea moved to the Cloister’s in DeLand in 2010, three years after Ray died, she became Wii Bowling Champ as well as Water Aerobic Leader extraordinaire, and warm or cold you could find her in the outside pool every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Rhea is predeceased by her husband Raymond. And she is survived by her children: Gail (Nicholas) Calcasola, Paula (Dick) Kelton, Christopher (Nancy) Allard, Kimberly (Heather) Allard; eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

A Memorial will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, DeLand with a gathering and fellowship to follow in Canterbury Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to St. Barnabas Family and Children Ministry, 322 W. Michigan Ave., DeLand, FL 32720, or to Food Brings Hope, 555 W. Granada Blvd, Suite 812, Ormond Beach, FL 32174. Lankford is in charge.