Carmelene Iva McAllister

Carmelene Iva McAllister, 69, of Saint Cloud, Florida, passed away, Wednesday, May 7th, 2014. Carmelene was born in Troy, Maine on November 12, 1944, the daughter of the late William R. and Ruth E. (Seaver) Parsons. She is survived by her loving husband of 49 years, Daniel E. McAllister of Saint Cloud; son, Kenneth McAllister and wife Gina of Sevierville, TN; daughter, Annette McAllister of Washington, D.C; three grandchildren: Samantha, Christopher and Justin; three sisters, Carol Shibles of Troy, ME., Ellen Sanborn of Unity, ME., Amber Bureau of Winslow, ME; and three brothers: Robert and David Parsons of Warren, Maine and William Parsons of Nevada. Arrangements under the direction of Osceola Memory Gardens Funeral Home & Crematory, 2000 13th Street, Saint Cloud, Fl 34769 407-957-2511 www.OsceolaMemGds.com Candi's husband Daniel McAllister writes this loving story about his beloved wife: Hi, I'm known by many as Candi McAllister and by few as Carmelene McAllister. Was born in Troy, Maine and died in Winter Gardens, Florida, but I was raised and married in Maine. Moved to Florida in 1967 with my husband who was in the Navy. He opened the Navy Training Center in Orlando, FL and trained Recruit Companies #1, #12, and #101 before retiring and starting a commitment as a full time husband and family man. We both decided to retire in 1991 and travel the United States. We got a 36 foot motor home, and away we went! Our goal was to visit all the states (sloooowly...some states we spent as long as ten weeks in,) visit State Capitals, and go to as many one of a kind things as we could (i.e., the one one, the biggest, the longest, the smallest, the strongest, etc.) We traveled 4 1/2 years and had to give it up for medical reasons. Int those ears we covered 45 states missing Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii. We toured 33 capitals, we wore long sleeved, long tailed shirts with over 200 souvenir patches on them and carried an album with all the Governors, Lt. Governors, Secretaries of States. They would want to look to see what we had from the Capital in bordering States. It was a thrill to sit in the Governor's offices and talk. In a lot of states we got a guided tour of the Capital building by the Lt. Governor or the Sec. of State, with some posing for pictures with us. One Lt. Gov took out his guitar and sang songs to us! We climbed or drove up quite a few mountains during our adventures. These include: Mount Katahdin three times (the north end of the Appalachian Trail,) Springer Mt. in GA (the southern end of the Appalachian Trail,) drove up Mt. Washington in N.H. where the Highest wind ever recorded by man took place (231 MPH,) climbed up to the rim of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. (1,932 feet,) viewed Mt. St. Helen from as close as they would let us get, climbed to the 10,000 ft. level of Mount Rainier in Washington state, went part way up Mt. Shasta (too much snow, ice and wind too cold & it's the largest and highest volcanic Mt in the U.S.,) and climbed the Chocolate mountains in Arizona. Other interesting things we did or visited: crossed the 45th parallel which is the half way between the Equator and the North Pole, went through the Rain Forest, th Red Wood forest, drove through the drive through tree, took a tour of the Hoover Dam, went to Boeing plant, known to be the largest building in the world, went to Multnomah falls (2nd highest in the U.S.,) went across New River Gorge Bridge (the longest single span steel arch bridge in the world located in West Virginia,) been to Lake Tahoe, been to the official center of the world, Felicity California, spent the night in Death Valley (engine running hot and had to stop,) went to Mayberry, N.C., Andy Griffith's home , went to Hershey, PA, crossed Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest bridge in the world, and went to the petrified forest in Arizona. We also drove up Pikes Peak in Colorado, went to Devil's Tower in the Black Hills, Wyoming, went to the Grand Canyon, went to the oldest church in the U. S. (San Miguel Mission) New Mexico, seen the Albuquerque Annual hot air Balloon Festival, 800 air balloons in the sky at one time, went to the four corners where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet at one point, went into the Bad Lands in South Dakota, went to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, went to Calipatria, California, the lowest down city in the Western Hemisphere (184 ft. feet below sea level) they have a flag pole that rises 184 feet in the air! We went to a bunch of Presidential libraries, spent 10 days touring Washington D.C., spent three weeks in the Diamond Fields in Arkansas, (didn't find anything but others did!) went into quite a few under ground caverns, to the U.S. Air Force museum in Dayton , Ohio, to Niagara Falls twice, went to the Coleman factory and headquarters, the Kraft Marshmallow Factory, and traveled Hwy 1 from Ft. Kent, Maine to Key West , Florida! We also traveled the famous R. 66. Candi loved those years on the road and felt that she was so blessed to have done it. If any one came to the house and asked to see some of her pictures, then they were in for Candi's outburst of excitement for the next five or six hours as she goes through 17 bulging albums! She was a wonderful mother and homemaker and as a wife and companion and a most loving woman. She was a the top of the list. I used to tell people that I ordered her from Sears and Roebucks catalog and got exactly what I wanted and 49 years later it was still the best deal I ever made!! She left suddenly and after about 20 days she opened her eyes for about 15 seconds and said "I LOVE YOU" then closed her eyes for the last time. I know there is another angel in heaven and she will be waiting for me . She is and always will be the love of my life; she left a hole in me that will never be filled. LOVE YOU BABY!!

Carmelene Iva McAllister

November 12, 1944 - May 7, 2014