Laramie obituary honors Bertha “Lee” Allen, funeral set for May 28

Bertha “Lee” Allen’s funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at Montgomery-Stryker Funeral Home in Laramie, with interment to follow at Greenhill Cemetery. Her obituary says she died May 18, and the notice was posted May 22, placing her among the recent Laramie death notices now circulating through the community.

Allen was born Sept. 25, 1956, and was raised in Laramie by Dr. Don and Ruth Allen alongside her brothers, John and Brian. The obituary says the three children grew up helping Don, known as Doc, with his veterinary business, an early family tie that helped shape Allen’s affection for animals and her later commitment to helping people.

She graduated from Laramie High School in 1975, then attended the University of Wyoming, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. Allen later completed a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University. Her career took her to South Dakota, where she worked as a microbiologist for the State Veterinary Laboratory before moving into work that became a defining part of her life.

The obituary says Allen found her professional niche serving people with developmental disabilities. She worked as a case manager for several organizations in Wyoming and later became an independent case manager in Cheyenne for participants in the waiver program. It describes her as a strong advocate for the rights of participants and says she and other case managers helped bring changes to the community. That service, spread across Wyoming and centered for a time in Cheyenne, added another layer to a life already rooted in Laramie.

Allen’s faith also deepened over time. Her obituary says she earned a certificate of ministry from Miracle Valley Church and preached at venues throughout Cheyenne. In her final years, she wrote sermons and Bible-study notes, with more than 20 three-ring binders found so far. The notice presents her as someone whose life blended science, caregiving and ministry, all shaped by the same steady ties to family, faith and the communities she served.