Thomas Walcer Allen, Sr.

Thomas W. Allen was born December 6, 1930, in Winston-Salem, to Gideon William and Lillie Rose Allen, both of whom preceded him in death. He passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2016 at Forsyth Medical Center. Tom graduated from Griffith High School in 1949 where he played quarterback on a six-man football team. He entered the U.S. Air Force in 1951, and retired in 1971; his military career was in the Corrections field. He was stationed at Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, Texas; Craig AFB, Selma, Alabama; and Chanute AFB, Rantoul, Illinois. He also had a tour of duty in Korea. During his 20 year career in the Air Force, he received many awards and decorations; most notably, the Meritorious Service Medal, for his years of service as Corrections Supervisor in the Confinement Facility at Chanute AFB. After retirement from the Air Force, he was employed by Mclean Trucking Company as a long distance driver until the company closed in 1986. He is survived by his wife of nearly 62 years, Connie. He is also survived by a son, Thomas W. Jr. of Winston-Salem; and a daughter, Sherry A. Johnson (Husband Christopher), of Boise, Idaho, and two beloved grandchildren, Michael Thomas Johnson, of Boise; and Katelyn Gayle Johnson, of Boise; an aunt and several cousins; last, certainly not least, precious Memory, Tommy's little poodle, whom he loved so dearly. Tom was a charter member of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, Rantoul, Illinois; he had been a communicant of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Winston Salem since 1971. Tom was also very proud of his Masonic affiliation. He became an Entered Apprentice on February 12, 1959, passed and raised a Master Mason on May 14, 1959, at Central City Lodge No. 305, Selma, Alabama. He was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason for over 50 years, and a member of the Winston-Salem York Rite and Scottish Rite Bodies; and held a demit from the Oasis Shrine Temple in Charlotte. He was a charter member and Past Master of Enterprise Lodge No. 752, A.F. & A. M.; he also served in the station of Chaplain for many years. He was a charter member and Past Patron of Enterprise Chapter No. 363, Order of the Eastern Star, and served in a station nearly every year, while health permitted. He served a term as President of the former Forsyth Shrine Club. His Masonic Brothers of Enterprise Lodge voted him a Lifetime Member award in October 2002; he was very proud of that. Tom derived great pleasure from his Masonic activities; for many years he enjoyed helping with the Enterprise Lodge Underground Beef Barbecue dinners. For many years he helped with the Oasis Temple annual Shrine Newspaper Drive. At the yearly May event, he could be found at K-Mart on Hwy 150, with his ""money basket"" for Shriners Hospitals. For several years he also spent the Christmas season selling trees with Forsyth Shrine Club, to benefit Shriners Hospitals ;( Usually followed by a cold or flu at Christmas). In the years following Sherry's move to Idaho, Tom and Connie derived great pleasure in touring some Western states and National Parks, especially Yellowstone, his favorite. He toured Yellowstone three times. Tom enjoyed visiting Old West historic places, such as Idaho City, and old gold mining town; and also Silver City, an old silver mining town nestled in the Owyhee Mountains in Southern Idaho. He loved to walk in old cemeteries, searching for Masonic emblems on the tombstones. One summer, he and Tommy visited Idaho Lodge #1 in Idaho City, at the yearly Masonic reunion. But his heart was always in North Carolina. Tom was the kind of person who never met a stranger; he was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather; a good neighbor; Masonic brother; and friend; a very dependable person who could always be counted on to lend a helping hand to anyone; he never ask for anything in return. He took good care of his mother and father, as was necessary in their older years; he was a loving and dependable son. He helped Connie with the care of her mother in her last years; and they cared for his mother in their home for more than a year. The funeral will be held at 2:00 PM Sunday November 27, 2016 at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 2575 Parkway Drive, Winston-Salem NC, with Father Steve Rice officiating, followed by Masonic graveside rites by Enterprise Masonic Lodge, and military graveside rites, at Parklawn Memorial Park. The visitation will be at Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home on Silas Creek Parkway, on Saturday November 26, from 6-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Shriner's Hospitals for Crippled and Burned Children; or to Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or to St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem.

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