Iona Allen

Iona Tolliver Allen (May 17, 1937 – July 15, 2003 She constructed the boots that Neil Armstrong wore when he first walked on the Moon, and also worked on later Extravehicular Mobility Unit suits for astronauts in the Space Shuttle program.

Career Allen worked at International Latex Corporation (ILC) as part of the ILC Dover seamstresses team. ILC had contracts with NASA to construct space suits for the Apollo program and the Space Shuttle program. Construction of Armstrong's boots took weeks. They consisted of thirteen layers, each of which had to be sewn perfectly and pass inspection. An ILC space suit designer at the time said of Allen: "She was the only one to ever make a perfect pair of boots."

Allen was one of the several Black women who worked on this integrated team. She worked for ILC for twenty-nine years. She retired in 1998, though she later went to work for Draperies Etc.

Personal life Allen was born in Virginia in 1937 with the birth (maiden) name of Iona Tolliver. She had three sisters and two brothers. She married Sam Allen and had one child. She joined the NAACP and was a Jehovah's Witness. She died at the age of 66, on July 15, 2003.