Shirley Dempsey Allen, age 83, of Jasper, Fla., passed away in the early morning hours of Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 at Lake City Medical Center Live Oak Campus. Shirley was the daughter of the late Perry and Maggie Dixon Dempsey. She married the love of her life Bryant Joshua Allen, Jr. when she was just 15 years old. The two would remain dedicated to each other until his death in July of 1997. She raised four children while attending Valdosta State College where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. Madison County Middle School would be her first and last teaching job (said with a laugh). Anyone who knew Shirley knew she was not cut out for disrespectful children. She and several other teachers left and went to work for the State of Florida Department of Children and Family Services. She enjoyed the work she did, helping aging adults. She developed lifelong friendships there with the men and women she worked with. Shirley retired in 1990, shortly after her husband retired and they took to the roads traveling all over the country. She was an avid reader and enjoyed the solitude that came with it. She was an absolutely fabulous cook. She could take two or three things from her pantry and deliver a full course meal. Biscuits and old-fashioned cream gravy were a favorite of the church youth group. Shirley and Jr. raised their children in Lee, Fla., at St. Regis Paper Company until they built their home on the Withlacoochee River just inside Hamilton County, Fla. It was there that she found peace and solitude for many years even after Jr.’s passing. She loved looking out the patio doors at the beauty of deer, racoons, squirrels, hawks and the river flowing just outside her back door. Shirley possessed a green thumb and loved planting and rooting plants and trees and watching them thrive. After her health began to fail, she and her caretaker/friend Betty Johnson would spend endless hours potting plants for her indoor enjoyment and back porch. Shirley was a longtime member of Corinth Baptist Church and attended as long as her health permitted. In addition to her husband and numerous brothers and sisters, she was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Sarah Catherine Allen and daughter-in-law, Susan Lynn Allen. Survivors include her four children, Randall B. Allen (Gail), of High Springs; Nita Allen Cruce, Dempsey M. Allen and Juana Allen Williams (Richard) all of Jasper; seven grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. In keeping with Shirley’s expressed wishes, a simple graveside service was held on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Corinth Baptist Church, 7042 SW 41st Ave, Jasper, Fla., with Pastor Gary Abbott officiating with eulogy by Juana Williams. Memorial contributions may be made to Corinth Church Cemetery Fund, C/O 7318 SW 37th Terrace, Jasper, Fla., 32052. Harry T. Reid Funeral Home, Jasper, was in charge of arrangements.
