Nancy M. Allen's Obituary
Nancy Merle Gordon Allen, age 80, passed away peacefully in her sleep Sunday night after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.
She was preceded in death by her parents Wesley Gordon and Helen Gordon.
She is survived by her husband, Nate Allen, and adult stepchildren
Kym Williams and David Allen whom she loved as if they were always her own.
And four grandchildren: CJ Williams, Jordan Williams, Odie Williams III and Olivia Williams and son-in-law Odie Williams II.
She was revered by our little dog Woody who stayed by her side and tried to guard the house like a Doberman Pinscher.
Nancy was born Nov. 25, 1943 in Topeka, Kan. but definitely raised in Fayetteville where her father was manager of the Chamber of Commerce from 1947-72 and her mother owned and operated the Craft Cellar.
Nancy graduated from Fayetteville High School and went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas with a degree in education.
Nancy taught elementary school in inner city Little Rock then moved back to her beloved Fayetteville. She became the first voluntarily rather than assigned to Jefferson Elementary School and remained upset when Jefferson was closed after she had retired from teaching.
Her Jefferson students still recognized her with great memories long after she retired from the classroom upon getting married in 1987.
Though retiring from teaching, Nancy had just begun to work for Fayetteville. She was selected to the Planning Commission and then elected alderman in Ward 3.
Likely the most liberal on that council, Nancy and the late Bobby Ferrell, the council’s most conservative member, worked amazingly well together putting their love of Fayetteville with common sense over ideologies.
Following her term on the City Council, Nancy, an avid Razorbacks basketball fan, became involved with the Yvonne Richardson Center in what had been a Jefferson School neighborhood. Her term included being the head of the board and with the support of former Razorbacks basketball coaches Nolan Richardson and Mike Anderson inspired three fundraising banquets, the last being “Three Big Shots” as U.S. Reed, the late Charles Balentine and Scotty Thurman returned to talk about the three most celebrated shots in Razorbacks basketball history.
Nancy also served on the board of Welcome Health, formerly the Fayetteville Free Clinic, and was a congregation member of St. James United Methodist Church and instrumental in starting the Soul Food dinner that has become an annual fundraising event.
She was presented with the ninth Wes Gordon Award as urged by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce committee and admitted to the Fayetteville Hall of Honor.
Memorial service will be 2:00 pm Thursday November 21, 2024 at Moore’s Chapel.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Fayetteville Animal Services, or the Wes Gordon Golden Deed Award.
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