Mr. Virgil 'Doyle' Allen

Virgil "Doyle" Allen, 92, of Henderson went to his forever home on October 28, 2015. Services are scheduled at Crawford - A. Crim Funeral Home on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 2 PM with Rev. Glenn Griffith officiating. Visitation will be one hour before the service, with burial to follow at Rusk County Memorial Gardens. Doyle is preceded in death by his loving wife of 62 years, Jeffie Griffith Allen; parents, Sim L. and Edna Gage Allen; three brothers, four sisters, and his son, Dr. Christopher Lynn Allen. Doyle is survived by his daughters, Carol A Bailey and husband David of Brentwood, TN, and Cheryl J. Patterson and husband L. Allan (Butch) of Henderson/Parker, CO.; granddaughters, Bridget A. Coker and husband Kyle of Toney, AL., Jennifer J. Bailey of Cane Ridge, TN., and Danae Patterson of Henderson/Parker, CO.; and great-granddaughter Gwendolyn Coker. He is also survived by his special nieces and nephews Terry and Tommy Berry, Charlotte and Tommy Foley, Rev. Bob and Rebecca Burroughs, Jim and Mariam Allen, DeLoris and Harry Davis, Dow Allen, and Harold and Linda Allen. Other survivors include many grand nieces and nephews with honorable mention to Laurey and Chance Martin, Lyndsey Berry, and J.T. and Misty Foley. Doyle was born on March 15, 1923 in Cherokee County, TX. His family moved to Rusk County at an early age. Doyle attended Kilgore College, Odessa Junior College, and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He was a World War II veteran, where he was awarded two Bronze Stars and his unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation during their deployment to North Africa and Italy from 1943-1945. After he finished his dedicated service for his country, he returned to Henderson where he became employed by the city as a Director of Transportation and Assistant Chief of Police. During the war, Henderson operated city street buses and three taxi cab companies, and choices of transportation were very limited, as was just about everything during World War II. In 1947, Doyle was employed by A. Crim Funeral Home, which was acquired by Billy and Betty Roy Crawford in 1950. He was employed with Crawford - A. Crim until 1953 when he was hired by Shell Oil/Royal Dutch where he got to see many parts of the United States. He retired after 44 years with Shell Oil and Capitan Enterprises as a general manager. Throughout the years, Doyle was involved with numerous organizations. He, alongside Billy Crawford, Fred Wallace, Billy Willard and others worked on the charter for VFW Post 8535. Additionally, he was a charter member of the Petroleum Pioneers of the Permian Basin and served many years in public service to the cities of Kermit, Andrews, and Odessa, in Ector and Winkler Counties. Doyle loved people, and never met a stranger. He was always willing to go the extra mile to help people that really needed it. He was a devoted husband, loving father, model grandfather, and joyful great-grandfather. Those who met Doyle could never forget his smile, and he will be greatly missed. Doyle was a long time member of the First Baptist Church of Henderson. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of East Texas, the American Heart Association, or the Alzheimer's Association of America. Condolences may be made online at www.crawfordacrim.com.

Mr. Virgil 'Doyle' Allen

March 15, 1923 - October 28, 2015