that improves the lot of Parker
County’s senior citizens.
Photographer Megan Parks
developed a working friendship with
Don while shooting photos for Jerry’s.
“Don Allen is an incredibly
complex man who has been a delight
to get to know over the years. His
outer persona of ‘Grumpy’ really is
at odds with the huge open loving
heart within. He is very witty, with
a dry sense of humor that is wicked.
He is a man of few words. I really
appreciate the challenges he gives
me when I photograph him. I notice
he is actually not one to seek the
‘limelight,’ rather he is content to
watch his work unfold. The Fall
Festival gives him so much joy. I
photographed his face as it lit with
such happiness as he watched the
families connect and have a safe,
sweet, fun time together. If asked,
I would say that event gives him a
chance to give without asking for any
recognition.”
“I like being active behind the
scenes, I am not big on being
out-front,” Don said. “It is always the
Senior Center, because there are a lot
of different causes you can support.
I think that the Senior Center is one
that you can touch a lot more people
in a positive way than you can in a
lot of other places. They probably
need it as much or more than anyone
else. That, and because it’s not going
to be long before I’m there. I may be
using that facility myself.”
There are people in 960 prayer
groups that are fervently counting on
him to do just that.
___________________________
Update:
One early spring Sunday morning,
less than four months after PCT
published the Don Allen cover story,
he decided he wanted to go to church
with his lifelong friend Jerry Durant.
Don had never been a big churchgoing man, but that Sunday he
seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. It
would be their last outing together.
Three days later, on Wednesday,
March 25, 2015, Don died at his
home, surrounded by his family.
He was 68.
A few weeks before, PCT had
received an email from Don. It was a
simple thank-you for the article.
It said, “Thank you for the article.
It was good. I am happy. Don.”
To the staff at PCT, that note was
on par with winning a Pulitzer.
Don Allen’s impact is evident
throughout Parker County — in the
progress and growth of causes he
supported, in the lives of people that
he mentored and in the hearts of
people who loved him.
“When I was going through a
bad time in my personal life, I got a
call from Don … ,” said his longtime
friend Dave Cowley. “He wanted to
make sure I was OK. That was the
kind of guy he was. Here he was
battling cancer and he was worried
about me. That was Don.”
Yes, it was.
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