Bess Wilson Allinder, 86, died Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at St. John's Health Center following a cerebral hemorrhage. Her survivors include her daughters, Maridel Allinder, Santa Monica, Calif.; Elizabeth Dotson, Springfield, Mo.; Sarajane Hudson, Humboldt, Ariz.; and a sister, Alma McCauley, Lincoln, Kan. She was predeceased by her husband, Dellis R. Allinder. Mrs. Allinder was born on March 28, 1924, in Lincoln, Kan. The youngest of nine children raised on a dairy farm during the Depression, she was a pragmatist with a great deal of discipline. The skills she learned from her mother, Adah Lyne Wilson, were abundant and far-reaching, from the simple beauty of a summer cucumber salad to a perfect button hole. Mrs. Allinder graduated from Research Hospital School of Nursing in Kansas City, Mo., in 1945 and began her career as a registered nurse in Kansas City, where she worked for a physician in private practice. She told stories about how her fellow nursing students hoarded their war-time sugar rations to make fudge and rode the streetcar to Union Station for milkshakes. This was also the time in her life when she learned to make "hospital bed corners," a high standard always maintained in her household. A resident of Springfield since 1951, Mrs. Allinder worked as a school nurse for Springfield Public Schools for 19 years, retiring in 1986. During her career, she served as an advocate for hundreds of children, providing health care, education and family outreach. She also worked for the Head Start summer program, giving immunizations and vision/hearing screenings to pre-kindergarten children. Mrs. Allinder was an active member of St. Paul United Methodist Church, where she served on the Parish Relations Committee and was a member of the United Methodist Women and the Church Council. She was also a long-time volunteer at St. John's Health Center, where she logged more than 7,000 hours of volunteer service. A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, April 30, at 11 a.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel. No visitation is planned. Burial will be at Hazelwood Cemetery at 1:30 p.m. Her daughters ask with gratitude that donations in memory of their mother be made to the General Fund or Elevator Fund at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 413 E. Walnut, Springfield, Mo., 65806.