Family will receive friends on Friday, February 27, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at White's Funeral and Cremation Services, 867 S, James Road, Columbus, OH 43227. Interment: Evergreen Burial Park.

Monika, 47, enter peacefully into an eternal rest on February 17, 2026, surrounded by love and God‘s comfort. She was born on August 5, 1978, in Columbus, Ohio to James Allen and the late Lilly Waynetta Allen. She lived in Columbus all of her life. Monika entered into the world with a heart defect that she refused to let define her. Modern medicine proclaimed a short life expectancy upon her, but through God’s will, two pediatric surgeries and a strong determination to survive, she proved the doctor wrong.

She attended and graduated from North High School in 1998. After high school, she was in a work program with the developmental disability program where she was very successful and never missed a day.  As a young woman growing up, Monika had a fun, loving personality and she was a life of the party. She played basketball, ran track, had an artistic side, and loved movies, especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But above all she was her own person. She didn’t accept pity or foolishness. She loved her Pastor, Bishop Mel Griffin, and no one better not say a mean thing against him…no, that was her job! She kept him in line, (Out of love). Monika loved church service, and one of the highlights became Monika’s final observation, when she would shout out, Praise The Lord! The whole church will shout back, Amen!

Monika grew up in a home, rooted in faith, family, and resilience. She was proceeded in death by her mother Lilly Waynetta Allen, Aunts: Rachel Allen, Barbara Allen, Stella Shute, and Uncle Frank Lovelace.

She leaves to cherish her memory her father James Allen; Siblings: Eric Mullins, Letitia Mullins, Chris (Kim) Mullins, And James (Felicia) Allen; Aunts: Geraldine Griffin, Imani Mohammed, Carla Espinosa, Ruby Lovelace, Dorothy Henley and Edna Allen; Uncles: Ralph Allen, Allan Griffin, Charles Griffin, and Carl Allen and a host of many other relatives, church family, and friends.

Monika leaves behind a legacy that will forever live in the hearts of those who knew her. Though she will be deeply missed, she will continue to inspire and uplift her family, and all who were blessed to share her journey.