Source: http://www.beckchapels.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1458776

JAMES ALBERT ALLEN
11/07/1930 - 11/14/2014

On November 14, 2014, James Albert Allen, 84, left an earthly life that seemed to span three centuries. He was born in Alexandria, Louisiana on November 7, 1930 to James Ogden and Nena McGrew Allen. Growing up in central Louisiana along with his sister Marianna, he would spend time with both his Allen and McGrew grandparents. Their households lacked electricity, telephones, and refrigeration, making Jim feel he had stepped back a century in time. His father, J.O., enjoyed farming and this meant Jim spent days milking cows and plowing fields with a mule. His mother even cooked over a fire in the fireplace when the gas pressure in their own home was too low.

At age 11, he met his first love -- driving. He began driving because “his daddy needed him to.” His family owned J.O. Allen's Little Country Store on Masonic Drive and he would make trips around town to their wholesale suppliers. Jim attended Bolton High School and graduated fourth in his class in 1947. He credits his speech and drama classes at Bolton from saving him from what he called a “slovenly dialect.” Proper annunciation was so important to him that when his only child, Janet, was young, he would pay her a nickel to properly pronounce “library.”

He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from LSU in 1954. He went on to teach grade school in both Houma and Lockport, Louisiana. He was a graduate assistant in the LSU library in the early 60s and it was there in 1962 he earned his masters degree in library science. While earning his masters, he met Gloria Ann Bausewein in the library school at LSU. He married Gloria in 1963 and served as the director of the Louisiana College Library in Pineville, Louisiana. In 1965, he and Gloria moved to Little Rock where he served as Associate Professor of Library Science and Director of the Library at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Jim was selected to be included in the 1978-79 Marquis Who's Who in America. Jim and Gloria's only child, Janet Ann, was born in December of 1965.

In 1982 when Janet began studying computer programming in high school, he became very interested in personal computers. Soon he owned his own IBM portable computer - a device about the size of a suitcase. This was just the beginning. In 1986 Jim stepped down as UALR Library Director and became the Head of Technical Services. He set off on a quest to discover technology that could computerize the UALR library and make it serve the community in new ways. Over the next 32 years, he would spend much of his personal and professional life tinkering with computers, printers, GPS systems, photo editing software, desktop security, firewalls, hard drive partitions and even smartphones. When he and Gloria later moved to Austin, he spent 17 years as a loyal member of the Computer Club of Austin. He was not “old school.” Technology was his friend. And while it pales in comparison to missing her dad, his daughter will very much miss her “computer guru.”

Jim enjoyed photography for most of his life - a love he passed on to his daughter. He was an active member of the Austin Shutterbug Club. Great scenery from across the country was one of his favorite subjects and he'd happily make a long drive to places like the Painted Churches of Schulenburg, the Ozarks in Arkansas, or the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina to photograph the vistas. Texas wildflower season was his favorite time of year to get out and shoot. In recent years, being the tech guru he was, he'd tweak his photos with Photoshop to get just what he wanted out of them.

In 1997, Jim and Gloria packed up and moved from Little Rock to Austin to be near Janet, her husband Stephen Katz and their brand new granddaughter, Anna Grace. In July 2000, Jim and Gloria gained another granddaughter, Lila Marie.

Jim lost Gloria in a car accident in late 2003. They had enjoyed 40 years of marriage together. Living in Austin near Janet and her family, he continued to pursue his love of technology and photography and served as an active member of both his photography club and the Computer Club of Austin. Janet often found her dad's social calendar to be more full than her own, even as he moved into his 80s.

In 2010, Jim rekindled his friendship with LSU library school classmate Mary Jack Wintle, then living in Black Mountain, NC. Their deep fondness for each other won out over their geographical differences and they married in April 2011. Soon after, Jim and Jackie set up household in northwest Austin but kept a residence in Swannanoa, NC. For almost 4 years they enjoyed traveling between Austin and Black Mountain, enjoying the scenery, the food, and most of all each other's company.

Jim died from complications due to myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder, diagnosed in late September 2014. His passing was with the comfort of his family and hospice care. He will be dearly missed by so many. He wanted everyone to know he had a wonderful life.

Jim is survived by his wife, Mary Jack Wintle; his daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Stephen Katz; granddaughters, Anna Katz and Lila Katz, all of Austin; sister and brother-in-law, Marianna Allen and Oran Ritter of Baton Rouge, LA; nephews David Allen Ritter of Marquette, MI, and John Paul Ritter of Lafayette, LA, and their families. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Gloria Bausewein Allen, and by his parents.

A memorial service to celebrate Jim's life will be held at University Christian Church of Austin on December 6 at 11am. A graveside service will be held in the spring at Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville, LA.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to either UCC or Bethany United Methodist Church, both of Austin.