Billy Daniel Allen
Billy Daniel Allen, 95, passed away peacefully on Easter morning, April 5, 2026, surrounded by his daughters.
Billy, who would tell you it was Billy, not Bill and not short for William, was adopted as an infant by Mr. and Mrs. Earle Mae (Leatherwood) and James Andrew Allen, of Hartford, Arkansas. Billy grew up on a farm outside of West Hartford, Arkansas, planting the seed for his lifelong passion.
Billy was an athlete and set a record for the 880 yard at the district or regional level for Hartford High School. He was also a song leader at the local Baptist church as a teen.
He was attending college at Springfield, Missouri, when he met his future wife, Marcille Foster. They were in a class together, and the instructor called out “Billy Allen” for attendance. Marcille’s brother was Billy Allen Foster, and, surprised by the name, she turned around and stared. That was all he needed to approach. They were married on May 13, 1951.
Billy was drafted during the Korean conflict, while he was in Springfield. He began basic training in November 1951 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, but finished it at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He began service as a Private but had been promoted to Corporal before leaving the service. He served with the 986 Engineer Pipeline Company in the Army Corps of Engineers. He was stationed in Chinon and Croix-Chapeau, France. Billy trained to work on pipeline couplings, but his captain transferred him to work as his personnel clerk at Croix-Chapeau. Billy served in the National Guard for eight years after his Army service.
Marcille joined him first while he was finishing basic training in Virginia and then in France for 18 months of his service. After he left the service in 1954, they lived in Kansas City for one year, where he worked at Safeway before they began farming together near Brownington, Missouri, in 1955.
They milked seven cows by hand at the beginning. They bought a farm in Huntingdale in 1960 and continued farming together, milking cows and raising hogs. They continued to expand their operation and moved to the Shawnee Mound area farm for the rest of their lives, building a successful dairy operation up to 130 dairy cows until 1996. They switched to beef cows after they stopped milking. He enjoyed working cows with a horse, and he insisted on having and riding a working horse well into his 90s.
He was an unstoppable force when it came to farming.
He and Marcille also raised five daughters. He taught his girls to waterski, to play ping pong and horseshoes, and how to ride horses. He and Marcille both enjoyed taking a motorboat and RV down to Truman Lake and camping out and boating, skiing himself, and whirling his kids and grandkids around until they fell off their skis or inner tubes.
He joined the Clinton Masonic Lodge No. 548 in 1972 and earned a rare 50-year pin in 2022.
He was preceded in death by his parents, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and his wife in 2024, after they had marked their 73rd anniversary that year.
He is survived by daughters: Danielle (Lyle) Hickman, Danita (Greg) Wood, Tanda (Steve) Berendzen, Marla (Terry) Thompson, and Melinda (the late Charles) Strain, and grandchildren Corey Norcross, Carrie Zwally, Casey Becker, Callina Johnmeyer, Marissa Wood, Evan Wood, Kyla Berendzen, Cole Berendzen, Cody Hill, and Charles Strain, Jr. He is also survived by 9 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Funeral services were held April 16, 2026 at the Vansant-Mills Chapel, Clinton with Pastor Pete Hill and David Mills officiating. Special music included “Sunrise, Sunset, Old Rugged Cross and I’ll Fly Away” by Marissa Wood. The casket bearers were Steve Berendzen, Cody Hill, Brandon Schofield, Charles Strain, Jr., Terry Thompson, Evan Wood, Greg Wood and Mike Zwally. Lyle Hickman was an honorary bearer. Interment followed in Englewood Cemetery, Clinton, MO.
Services were under the direction of Vansant-Mills Funeral Home of Clinton, MO.
