Submitted by Cheney Witt Funeral Home

Cleland F. Allen, age 85, a resident of Fort Scott, Kan., passed away early Saturday, July 8, 2017, at the Medicalodge of Fort Scott.

He was born September 29, 1931, in Arkansas City, Kan., the son of McKinley Allen and Inez Adams Allen.  He graduated from the Mound City High School with the Class of 1949.  Cleland served for twenty years with the United States Air Force.  He retired in 1971 with the rank of Tech Sargent.  Following his military service, he married Mary Dauben on April 16, 1976, in Nevada, Mo.  He worked for a time for Key Industries and also worked as a long haul trucker.  He then worked for several years for Bourbon County.  He enjoyed traveling, reading and spending time with his family.  He was a member of the Cherry Grove Baptist Church, the American Legion and the Olson Frary Burkhart Post #1165 Veterans of Foreign Wars where he frequently served with the VFW honor guard.  He was also a past member of the Lions Club.

Survivors include his children Rodney Allen and wife, Sandy, of Deer Lodge, Mont., Gary Simons and wife, Liz, of Kearney, Mo., Larry Joe Simons and wife, Kim, of Fort Scott, Janice Briggs and husband, Dusty, of Bushton, Kan., Sandra Newton and husband, Paul Joe, of Fort Scott, Connie Simons, of Fairview, Okla., Pam Riedel, of Liberty, Mo., and Diane Gray and husband, Rob, of Fort Scott; 19 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.  Also surviving are two sisters, Vada Casteel and husband, Max, of Clinton, Mo., and Joyce Allen, of Fort Scott; a sister-in-law, Minnie Lou Allen, of Fort Scott and numerous nieces and nephews.    His wife, Mary, preceded him in death on February 1, 2014.  He was also preceded in death by two sons, Bobby Simons and Billy Simons; two brothers, Morris and Ottis Allen, a grandson, a great-grandson and a niece.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 13, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.  Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery, where military honors will be provided by the Olson Frary Burkhart Post #1165 Veterans of Foreign Wars.  The family will receive friends on Thursday from 9 a.m. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel.  Memorials are suggested to the Cherry Grove Baptist Church and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701.  Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.