Pellie Springer

Pellie Lee Sanders Allen Springer, age 100, of Tuscaloosa, died December 6, 2024 at DCH Regional Medical Center.

She was born on a farm near the Blount - Walker County line, and attended schools at Empire, Red Hill, and Hayden. She was preceded in death by her parents, D. Hobart Sanders and Jesse Whitley Sanders; brothers, Cecil, Buddy, and Eugene Sanders; sisters, Lillian Parker, Roberta Hardin, Ruth Spradlin, Doris Parks, and Joyce Manning; and husband, Jack Springer.

Survivors include her sons, John H. Allen (Joan) of Huntsville and David W. Allen of Greensboro; grandchildren, Whitney Patel (Samit), Jonathan Allen, Michael Allen (Jerett), and Suzanne Allen; six great-grandchildren: Sophia, Collin, Alexandria, Victoria Allen; and Oliver and Austin Patel; siblings, Angel Pair, Ruby Sims, and Bill Sanders.

Pellie was especially close to her two boys and their families. She was known to many family members as "Peck."

Pellie came to Tuscaloosa following WWII so her then-husband Walter L. Allen could attend the University of Alabama. After he graduated, she helped him with several business start-ups and later worked for Singer Sewing Co. as an instructor. She retired as a seamstress working out of her home until 2007.

Pellie and her second husband Jack Springer were very involved in the Tuscaloosa (gospel) Singing Convention. Both held several different officer positions in the organization at the state level, and both participated in gospel singing groups in the 1950s and 1960s.

Pellie was a genuine Christian lady and was very involved in her church, the Open Door Baptist Church, which later merged with Alberta Baptist. She cooked and carried food to many sick and shut-ins from her church and in her neighborhood and was famous for her chicken 'n dumplings and chicken dressing.

Pellie was an excellent cook and hosted family members in her home for lunch on Wednesdays for nearly 30 years, including grandchildren when they were attending the University. She was a positive influence on her family, friends, and neighbors. She had a large backyard flower and vegetable garden that would rival any in Tuscaloosa in beauty, variety, and bounty.

Pallbearers will be Ellis Harding, Michael Allen, Jonathan Allen, Samit Patel, Nathan Ramey, Tommie Gorum, Carl Manning, Ricky Armstrong, and Larry Spradlin. Honorary pallbearers will be former members of the Joy Sunday School Class from Open Door and Alberta Baptist Church, Pellie's 21st Avenue friends and neighbors, and doctors Scott Kempt and Phil Hemstreet.

Visitation will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 14, 2024, for one hour with the funeral service to follow immediately at noon at Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home, 4905 Hwy 69 North, Northport, Ala. Burial will be in Memory Hill Gardens Cemetery in Tuscaloosa with Magnolia Chapel North directing.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of West Alabama or Alberta Baptist Church.