Suffering from gigantism in youth, Sandy Allen reached a height of 7' 7¼" and made the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest woman. Today the Shelbyville News reports that tallest woman Sandy Allen died at the age of 53 at the Heritage House Convalescent Center.
I must confess that I did not know of Sandy Allen. There was of course the Discovery Channel program that featured her and several other individuals recovering from surgeries for gigantism. Yet much more than just the footage showing photos of her as a child and then interacting in a store and bearing gawking customers with good humor, Sandy Allen had the kind of personality you could not help but admire.
Unwilling to feel sorry for herself and instead taking on the world, she sought out attention in the hopes of connecting with others of her size. Unlike so many other individuals featured on television because of their height, tallest woman Sandy Allen appeared comfortable in her skin and had a cheeky sense of humor that made her most endearing.
I believe that Ms. Allen's life is inspiring on a number of levels. She was patently unwilling to become fodder for sympathy and at the same time did not shrink away from the spotlight. She acknowledge being different as something to be embraced, not something for which to apologize or which to hide. Moreover, in just the few short television clips I saw that featured her, she offered a lot of life lessons for those willing to read between the lines and those who truly wanted to learn what made her "tick."
It is admirable to see a scholarship instituted in her name. Those moved to make contributions in her honor should by all means take advantage of remembering a bighearted - both literally and figuratively -- woman by sending checks to the Sandy Allen Scholarship Fund at 54 West Broadway in Shelbyville, Indiana 46176.
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