Memorial services for Mr. John Albert Allen were held at 11 a.m. Aug. 4, 2018, at the Monticello United Methodist Church. Mr. Allen, 82, died Friday, July 27, 2018, at his residence in Silver Creek. Rev. Mike Evans officiated.

Saulters Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

John Albert Allen was born Dec. 18, 1935, in Silver Creek, to Hubert Bryant Allen and Aligene Little Allen.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father; a brother, Burt Allen; and a sister, Annie Jean Dumas.

Mr. John Albert Allen is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kay Allen; two daughters, Robin Kropog and her husband Scott of Kenner, Louisiana, and Wren Allen of Silver Creek; a son, John Albert Allen II “Jay” of Silver Creek; three grandchil- dren, Carrie Grace Jones, Shelbie Danielle Allen, and John Hayes Allen; as well as a host of other relatives and friends.

John Albert Allen received his Chemistry degree from the University of Mississippi in 1958.

At Ole Miss, he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.

Mr. Allen was a chemical engineer in the petroleum industry.

He began his career with Baroid Oil Company in Houma, Louisiana and later joined The Superior Oil Company as a drilling fluids manager, in Lafayette, Louisiana.

After Mobil Oil bought Superior, Mr. Allen worked in the New Orleans, Louisiana and Dal- las, Texas corporate offices.

Mr. Allen’s work took him around the world (for example: Norway, Peru, Nigeria) but his heart and soul remained in Silver Creek.

He retired with Mobil Oil Company but after a couple of years’ retirement (in which he kept himself productively occupied helping his children, Wren and Jay, build homes on his “Silver Creek” place) he went to work for Baker Hughes, before retiring again.

Mr. Allen also consulted and was an occasional ex- pert witness.

John Allen was a mem- ber of the Monticello United Methodist Church, where he sang in the church choir directed by his dear wife, Kay.

Mr. Allen was a former

member of “For Heaven’s Sake” gospel singing quartet with the Prentiss Methodist Church.

He was an avid blue- grass musician as well, being a former member of the “Acadiana Bluegrass” band in Lafayette, Louisi- ana.

Mr. Allen loved all types of music, especially classical, and encouraged his daughters in their clas- sical music studies. Mr. Allen was a songwriter and had a few copyrighted tunes.

Placing a high value on quality education and scholarship, Mr. Allen was a founding board member of Prentiss Chris- tian School.

He was an unsung, be- hind the scenes volunteer with many Lawrence County civic projects, enthusiastically working in partnership with his beloved wife, Kay, helping to build the park at Silver Creek, helping to restore the Longino house and civic center in Monticello, and helping the garden club with town beautification projects.

In so doing, he was un- consciously following the directive of his late grand- mother, Eugenia McDow- ell Little, who, in a 1922 letter to her children, charged them to: “Be a blessing to this world. Make your community and the world better for having lived in it.”

In addition to being a man of science and music, John Allen was an artist who loved the outdoors. His naturalistic oil paint- ings adorn the walls of his “camp house”, but his finest work of art was the camp house itself.

Mr. Allen and his dear wife, Kay, salvaged ma- terials from tear downs for 30 plus years, with the long term vision of creat- ing their own hand made house, conforming to no ones’ standards but their own.

Overlooking the Wil- liams Mill branch, the camp house is the physi- cal reminder of John Al- bert Allen’s deep family roots in his Silver Creek home.

Mr. Allen was fortunate to have a long, peaceful and productive retirement on his Silver Creek place.

He was able to enjoy his vegetable gardening and to pursue his interest in heirloom seeds. Perhaps the finest role he played in his retirement was in the education, loving and rearing of his grandchildren, who all lived on the Silver Creek place.