Abigail Halsey Van Allen

Abigail Halsey Van Allen, 86

Died Sept. 8, 2008, in Iowa City, Iowa, where she had lived since 1951.

She was a beloved and revered member of the Iowa City community who touched many people’s lives.

Born Abigail Fithian Halsey II on Aug. 9, 1922, in Southampton, N.Y., she spent summers there in a Halsey family home and swam daily in Peconic Bay. She grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from the Lotspeich and Hillsdales schools of Cincinnati. She graduated with the Class of 1944 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., where she was a founding member of the V-8’s acappella group. After college, she worked at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Silver Springs, Md., where she met her future husband, James A. Van Allen.

After a short courtship, they married Oct. 13, 1945, in Southampton, N.Y., in a service officiated by her father, Jesse Halsey, a Presbyterian minister.

She was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, James A. Van Allen, who died Aug. 9, 2006.

She was valued member of Hiking Club, University Club, P.E.O.-Chapter E, E.O.S., Raphael Club, Physics Wives and Newcomers Club. Over the years, she was advocate for retaining open spaces and the preservation of landmark buildings. She was involved in the effort to preserve Old Capitol and Old Brick, and was an early advocate of Project Green.

From Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Services http://www.gayandciha.com/obit-display.jhtml?DB=update/obits/dbase&DO=display&ID=1221080487_8198