James Roy Allen, "J.R.," unexpectedly went to be with his Lord and Savior on May 23, 2020. J.R. always put his family first and was dedicated to ensuring the happiness of his wife, children and grandchildren. J.R. was born in Laramie, Wyoming on October 12, 1946 to James M. Allen and Elise Allen. He enjoyed his childhood growing up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and spending time outdoors with his friends hunting, snow-mobiling and skiing. He was also a member of the ski-patrol during college. J.R. attended the University of Wyoming until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1970. While stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, J.R. met the love of his life, Libby in May of 1971 and married her on June 3, 1972. After their wedding, the mountain man whisked away the Louisiana girl to Laramie, Wyoming where he graduated from college with his degree in Civil/Architectural Engineering.

Upon graduation, J.R. was offered a job with M.W. Kellogg and Libby and J.R. began their new life in Houston, Texas in 1973. By 1978, they had welcomed their first daughter, Jennie, and completed their family in 1980 when they welcomed Christy. Over the years J.R. was employed by several engineering firms in the private sector until he began his career as Senior Project Manager with the Metropolitan Transit Authority. J.R. was passionate about his work for METRO as he contributed to the beautification of downtown Houston and assisted the entire community by improving methods of mass transportation. J.R. retired in 2015 after 30 years of dedicated public service. During retirement, J.R. dedicated his time to his family, church, and continued service to others.

J.R. had passion for community service, serving both his neighborhood community and his church. He served on the Prestonwood Forest Utility District Board for over 30 years. While on the Board, he served as Secretary and his engineering background served as a great resource to the Board and all the residents of Prestonwood Forest. J.R. also was a long-standing member of Lakewood United Methodist Church. He was involved in the children's ministry, participated in the church garage sales, and most recently handled the sale of items for the church on EBay. In 2007, J.R. found his true-calling in serving his Lord and Savior through his mission work for the church in Kenya, Africa. He fell in love with Africa and wanted to share that experience with the love of his life and was able to return to Kenya with Libby in 2016. J.R. also participated in the United Methodist Committee On Relief at Sager Brown in Baldwin, Louisiana for 6 years. J.R. and Libby traveled to the Everglades in Florida in 2019 with the United Methodist Disaster Response team and spent their 47th wedding anniversary providing assistance to those who suffered devastating losses as a result of hurricanes in the Florida Panhandle. Additionally, no matter what Libby was doing, J.R. served as her devoted assistant by providing artwork, participating in the nativity scene at the church, creating nametags, and any other administrative duties Libby required for her involvement in many organizations. J.R.'s new found passion in his faith walk was the Men's Bible Study Fellowship with his close friends held at Cypress Bible Church for the last four years.

J.R. was always the master-planner and loved planning family road-trips and visiting family across the nation. From Texas to California, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, across the Rocky Mountains and the notorious RV trip and Caribbean cruise, the Allen family experienced many adventures together. J.R. also enjoyed planning trips abroad with his favorite travel companion. Libby and J.R. travelled several times to Europe, visited family in Aruba, and J.R. especially enjoyed their

trip to Canada with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law and the Bakers. Whether trips with family, Louisiana friends, Texas friends, excursions at Lake Travis, enjoying Baylor games, or bonding with dear friends in Minnesota, J.R. was truly passionate about travelling.

J.R. had an inquisitive mind and meticulous nature. He was very creative and a true artist, with a never-ending list of projects to complete. J.R. was the rock of his family, always gentle, and the problem-solver. There was never anything he would not do for his family and friends, and he had a very special connection with each of his seven grandchildren. Above all, J.R. was a man of God and those that knew him will continue to be blessed by their memories of him.

J.R. is survived by his wife, Libby Allen; his daughters Jennifer Hearn and Christy Gilbert; sons-in-law Nathan Hearn and Josh Gilbert; grandchildren: Jacquelyn Hearn, Isabella Hearn, Anna Hearn, Allison Hearn, Meredith Hearn, Lillian Gilbert and Bailey Gilbert; his sister Merridy Krohn; sister-in-law Linda Stockman; and nieces and nephews: Michael Stockman, Lisa Stockman O'Dowd, Catrin Tzaribachev, Raymond Luck and Kelly Harkins.

A Memorial Service will be held on June 8, 2020 at Lakewood United Methodist Church. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Memorial Service will be limited to immediate family members only and a link for the service will be available for viewing later that day. In lieu of flowers, the Allen family requests donations be made to the Lakewood United Methodist Church Missions Fund in memory of J.R. Allen.