Laverne "Leigh" Mae (Cochran) Allen

Laverne M. (Cochran) “Leigh” Allen
September 24, 1940 – January 18, 2025

Laverne Mae (Cochran) Allen, also known as Leigh, or Sis to family, was born on September 24, 1940 on the family
farm on Cass Union Road in Ohio County, Indiana. The second child of Ernest Paul and Mabel Estella (Hand) Cochran,
Laverne was welcomed home by her brother, Lawrence Alvin Cochran, two years her senior. Leigh’s childhood was
spent on the farm, growing up with cousins who lived next door on the grandparent’s farm and other cousins visiting
on weekends from their homes in the city. Many wonderful days were spent with these family playmates - the city
cousins learned about life on the farm; in the same way, Lawrence and Leigh spent summer vacations with the city
cousins experiencing life in the city. The Cochran family attended Mount Pleasant Methodist Church and Lawrence
and Leigh were baptized there as young teens.

Leigh attended Cass-Union Consolidated School through eighth grade and graduated from Rising Sun High School in
1958; an honor student who embarked on a journey of life-long learning after her graduation. The first position she
held that made a lasting impression on her was for a division of the DuPont Company located in the Carew Tower,
Cincinnati, Ohio. She was secretary to Ted “Dutch” Van Kirk, who saw her potential. The company sent her to the
University of Cincinnati for business and management classes during her tenure there. A few years later, DuPont
made moved their corporate offices out of Cincinnati to Greenville, North Carolina, and Leigh did not to relocate with
DuPont, but remained in Indiana.

She then met and married James Allen. They moved to Columbus, Indiana where Jim worked for Cummins Engine
and Leigh took a position in a real estate office – the beginning of her career as a real estate broker and teacher.
While working, she attended real estate classes, studied for the state test and on January 1, 1966 she received her
Real Estate Salesman license. By 1969, the couple moved back to southeastern Indiana to be closer to Leigh’s family
as her father had passed away. Jim was employed by Jos. Seagram as a truck mechanic, but soon saw the
opportunity for them to start their own business, he became a licensed real estate agent and Allen Real Estate
launched in the early 1970’s with Jim and Laverne as brokers. Their family grew; Patrick Paul Allen was born on
January 2, 1970 and Scott Andrew Allen on December 12, 1976 and she and Jim loved their boys.

The real estate industry was growing rapidly and Leigh was approached by Ivy Tech State College in Madison to teach
real estate sales. She began by teaching real estate sales, then taught broker classes and eventually taught continuing
education classes for agents at both the Madison, Indiana and Lawrenceburg, Indiana campuses. Leigh had one goal –
to ensure that every student she taught would be able to pass the state real estate exam - and she was very successful at that endeavor. In addition to teaching, Leigh was appointed to the Ivy Tech College Board of Directors and served on the Ivy Tech Foundation Board.

Leigh and Jim divorced and she bought a home on Tebbs Avenue in Greendale in 1999. She continued teaching for Ivy
Tech College and maintained her Real Estate Broker licenses in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky through 2024. For a time
she was employed as a Residential Sales Manager for Coldwell Banker West Shell in Indiana. Fisher Homes in Boone
County, Kentucky approached her to be a principal broker and oversee the Sugar Ridge development on State Line
Road in Dearborn County as well as other Fisher properties. While commuting from Dearborn County to Boone
County, the wetlands of the Oxbow near the US 50/I-275 interchange intrigued her and she spent years helping
Oxbow to negotiate the purchase of many of the parcels that they now own; over the past few years she still talked
about wanting Oxbow to be able to acquire more lands.

In 2018, Leigh sold her home in Greendale and relocated to Darlington Farm in Boone County, settling into a
beautiful condominium home, enjoying activities and neighbors within the association. Never one to be idle, she
volunteered once a week at Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CAVBI) reading newspaper
articles for audio broadcast. Keeping her real estate brokers licenses active was important to her; she maintained her
licensure and continuing education hours through 2024 – a career of fifty-eight years as a licensed real estate
professional. She enjoyed the many friendships she maintained over the years, staying in touch with Ivy Tech
colleagues, going out to dinner and on outings with former students and work friends. In 2022, Leigh’s son Patrick
Paul Allen died suddenly; thankfully her son Scott Allen then resided in Boone County and was there to comfort his
mother.

In 2023, Leigh was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went into that journey like every other thing she had done in
her life – realistically and open to learning – and chose cancer care designed to manage pain and maintain, focusing
on quality. During that time, she planned her estate and setting things in motion to insure things went the way she
wanted. The care she received at St. Elizabeth Cancer Center in Edgewood was amazing, and of course Leigh engaged
with and learned as much as she could about every member of her care team, telling them how special they were to
her. She lived with cancer very gracefully until another health issue arose which required surgery. That recovery was
slow; she was able to return home, but never regained her strength.

In January of 2025, Leigh moved back to Dearborn County, into Ridge Wood Assisted Care where she died on January
18, 2025 with family and friends near. Laverne “Leigh” Allen is survived by immediate family - son Scott Allen (Sasha
Gorham) of Florence, Kentucky; grandsons Hunter and Rowan Allen of Ripley County, Indiana; niece Deedee (Junie)
Brown of Rising Sun, Indiana; nephew Rick Cochran of West Harrison, Ohio; great nephew Zach (Kayla) Brown of

Florence, Indiana; great nieces Shay (Cody) Scott of Woodburn, Indiana and Macala Cochran of West Harrison, Ohio
and many other extended family members and cousins. She is remembered and will be missed by many special
friends.

In accordance with her wishes and prior arrangements, Leigh’s body was donated to the University of Cincinnati
Medical College for research and education – in death as in life – ever the educator. Her request was for no formal
services, however friends and family will gather for a Celebration of Laverne “Leigh” Allen on Saturday, September
20, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in the Depot Room of the Lawrenceburg Public Library, 151 Mary Street, Lawrenceburg,
Indiana. If you feel so led, please come – the family would love to see you. Deedee Brown will lead the conversation,
stories will be told, pictures will be shared and anyone who would like to share a story is welcome to.
If you would like to make a memorial donation to honor Leigh’s life, please consider a donation to Oxbow, Inc. or
Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (CAVBI) or a charity of your choice. Donations will be
accepted at the celebration.
Oxbow, Inc. CAVBI
P O Box 4172 2045 Gilbert Ave
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
http://oxbowinc.org/index.html https://cincyblind.org/

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