Elma Allen
Milano
Elma
was born in Gilbert, Arizona in the year 1920, and raised in
Los Angeles, California. She is the proud mother of six, foster
mother of two, grandmother of twenty-eight and great-grandmother
of thirteen and growing.
Her
vocational training has been primarily in the field of music.
She began accordion lessons at fourteen and became the most
sought-after female accordionist in Southern California while
still attending Eagle Rock High School (S '37). She also worked
for Howell-Aretta Conservatory of Music located in downtown
Los Angeles. It was here that she met her future husband, Henri
Milano.
After
their marriage in 1938, they operated the largest chain of accordion
studios in Southern California. Following World War II, they
moved to Mesa, Arizona, where they founded Milano Music Center.
Henri and Elma were divorced in 1961. Elma was left with the
business in lieu of child support and alimony. Milano Music
Center became the largest chain of complete music stores in
the state.
Elma personally trained all six children until they became the
world's largest family of virtuoso accordionists. One of the
five daughters, Francene, teamed with her mother to make a mother-daughter-look-alike
television commercial for Ivory Liquid. This was aired all over
the United States and Canada for two years.
In 1976, after she sold the corporation to her son, Frank, Elma
turned to community service. This included a four-year-term
on the Mesa City Council and service on the Board of Directors
for the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. She also acted as secretary
of the Downtown Business Association and participated in such
service organizations as: Soroptomists, Business & Professional
Women, American Business Women's Association, National Federation
of Women's Clubs, Republican Women, Women's Auxiliary of the
VFW, the Mesa Symphony Music Guild and Mesa Fine Arts.
During
the seventies, Elma lectured extensively. She belonged to the
National Speaker's Association and taught for Brigham Young
University. She was a very busy motivational and organizational
speaker. Her most popular theme was: "Success Unlimited by Achieving
Goals That Go!" While doing so, she also led the youth of her
church. During the eighties, Elma served as a missionary for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While doing
so, she lived in Missouri, Kansas and Washington D.C.
Since
1991 Elma has focused on family history. She began by writing
her own life story. During this decade she also served at the
Mesa Arizona Family History Center. After this, she led the
women of her church and served in the Arizona Temple. Now well
into her eighties, Elma still lives in the same house she designed
and built back in 1950. She calls it "Milano Manor." It sits
on three-quarters of an acre in Fraser Fields, Mesa, Arizona.
Many fruit-bearing trees grow in her large back yard. She hopes
to spend the rest of her lovely life living here and lifting
the lives of others.
E-mail
Elma at: elma@lintonmilano.com
