Recently Dead

Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman, died yesterday at a Shelbyville, Indiana, nursing home. She was 53. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Allen, whose pituitary gland produced too much grown hormone due to a tumor, had recently been suffering from a recurring blood infection, as well as diabetes, respiration problems, and kidney failure. Allen was proud of her 7' 9" height and "embraced" it, using it as a tool to educate; she appeared on television and spoke at schools, spreading the message that it's all right to be different. Interestingly, Allen lived in the same Heritage House Convalescent Home as Edna Parker, 115, the world's oldest person, pictured above with Allen. (CTV)

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