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LIZ ALLEN – ESSAY

Liz Allen

Essay

She’s a woman who left her comfort zone when disastrous circumstances were thrust upon her and achieved success. Liz Allen of Erie, PA pursued a career as a writer and has been writing for the Erie Times News for many years. In her writing, we have gotten know Liz’s quiet dignity of embracing life “fearlessly.”

Liz Allen has shown strength to accept life’s challenges and continuously have a faith-filled spirit for living life to its fullest. A mother of two, Liz in her resilient stick-to-it-ness, raised two boys to adulthood, after her husband Patrick, died suddenly at a young age. Married later to her second husband Tom, Liz inherited another family through marriage and adopted them as her own; unfortunately her second husband eventually was diagnosed with prostate cancer, passed away. Somewhere in all of this, Liz unexpectedly suffered the loss of her oldest son, Pat Jr. when she received a phone call on the morning of her 50th birthday and learned her son abruptly died from a brain aneurysm. Pat Jr. at the time of his death had a wife, two small children and was expecting their third child. Pat’s death left Liz another very difficult and sudden tragedy she accepted with grace. In all of these sad turn of events; Liz buried both parents and her dear 100-year-old grandmother! In all of the heartbreaking times that came into her life, Liz continued to write for the paper, in addition to always lending a hand for those in need. Over the years, Liz Allen has carefully woven into her stories about the lives of many Erie residents, bits and pieces of her own life’s twists and turns.

At 60, Liz is happily married to Eric Compton, a man she had met while in college many years ago. Eric brought into Liz’s life, an additional family to treasure as her own. Today, Liz’s youngest son Marc is now married with a family and her former daughter-in-law, Kerilynn now remarried, offers Liz a multitude of family to love.

Liz Allen, an accomplished writer and human being, exemplifies for me a role model who exudes fearlessness and determination in everything she touches. Her way of living, provides encouragement for me, when life’s hurdles sometime try to strike me down.

Submitted by Theresa Margaret Power-Natale