HANCEVILLE — Allene Gladys Morton

Allene Gladys Morton, 84, born in Cloverdale, Ind., Aug. 19, 1927, passed away in Panama City Beach, Fla., June 29, 2012, surrounded by her immediate family.

Allene is survived in death by her husband of 66 years, Ulynn Morton; two sons, Larry (Margaret) Morton of Crane Hill and Butch Morton of Panama City Beach, (Denise Morton of Cullman, Alabama); three grandchildren, Andrea (Patrick) Penn of Huntsville, Trent Morton of Lafayette and Tanya Morton of Panama City Beach; three great-grandchildren, Seth Penn, Samuel Penn and Charly Penn, all of Huntsville; a sister-in-law, Christine Kessler of Cullman; and countless nieces, nephews and friends.

Allene was preceded in death by her parents, John and Elizabeth Hanners of Cloverdale, Ind.; a sister, Mildred “Midge” (Loren) Haltom of Cincinnati, Ohio; two half-sisters, Elsie (Henry) Hash of Iowa City, Iowa, and Mettie (Ray) Neidig of Cullman; two half-brothers, Bill (Ruby) Dezern of Coral Gables, Fla., and James Dezern of Orville, Calif.

Allene attended Cloverdale High School where she was double-promoted twice and graduated early at the age of 16. She later worked for the Indianapolis State Police Department before meeting her husband of 66 years, Ulynn Morton, whom was stationed at Camp Atterbury while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. After Ulynn returned home from the war in Europe, she traveled by train from Indiana to Alabama and was married in Cullman Aug. 31, 1946. While raising two boys, she was employed full-time by Wal-Mart where she was in charge of all inventory control. She continued working tirelessly for 35 years before finally retiring in 1992. After retirement, she enjoyed traveling to various beaches and lakes, camping in the mountains in their travel trailer, gardening, growing beautiful flowers, and baking gourmet meals. However, her real enjoyment came from “spoiling” all of her grandchildren. After living in Cullman most of her life, she moved to Panama City Beach, Fla., in November of 2011 to live out the rest of her days in the warm Florida sunshine and beside the beautiful sandy beaches.

Allene was a devoted Christian, along with being a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to all of her “babies”. She was also a magnificent chef at home, where she was usually busy baking and cooking gourmet meals for family and friends. She would selflessly care for family and friends under any circumstances. Whether offering advice or helping out in troubled times, she would be there to comfort and be of service in times of need. Her church home was East Side Baptist Church where she regularly attended for 55 years. That was also where she learned how to live her life following 6 simple principles which are: 1. Pray daily; 2. Be thankful; 3. Forgive daily; 4. Fill your minds with positive uplifting thoughts daily; 5. Cultivate friendships; and 6. Create a daily schedule where you plan what you’re going to do. Those that know her, realize that she followed these principles faithfully and definitely carried her share of burdens without fail.

She will be missed always, but never forgotten. Her life lessons of kindness will live on forever from generation to generation. We can only hope to be half as giving and selfless as she was. She will always live forever in our hearts. We love you ”Lene”,  “Mama”, “Mawmaw”, “Grandmother”, and “Great-Maw”, and we will see you again one day in paradise for a great reunion.

Visitation was from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at Moss-Service Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held graveside at Cullman City Cemetery at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, 2012.