Donald Lee Allison was born on July 21, 1926 in Cork Corners, Ohio. He died on January 29, 2023 in Mount Olive, Alabama.
The most important thing in his life was his walk with God which began when he was six and was reinforced with his full commitment at age 13. His life included a lot of bends in the road but he trusted God’s direction.
The first major bend in the road came when Lee moved to Wollaston, MA to begin his college courses as a high school senior. God provided a job and the finances to complete his degree at Eastern Nazarene College in 1947.
In 1946, he faced another bend when his Dad fell off a scaffolding and died a few days later.
Lee moved to Kansas City in 1947 to continue his education at the recently founded Nazarene Theological Seminary. Here he met and fell in love with Hattie Roberts, whom he married in 1949.
His pastoral career began in Pennsylvania with many bends in the road. He continued to pastor in Vermont, where his family grew and his four children (Don, Joan, Janet and Julia) were born. This was followed by pastorates in North Carolina and Kentucky. Even after leaving the full-time pastorate, he served as interim pastor for many congregations and was always ready to fill in when asked.
While he was in Vermont, God began to direct him into education and away from the full-time pastorate. He earned an M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1963, after several years of teaching in high school while he was also pastoring, he took a job at the University of North Alabama teaching physics and physical science. He continued his education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and, after the path took some unexpected turns, he took a sabbatical to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1970. He completed his Ph.D. in 1973 and returned to UNA where he chaired the physics department, served as chair of the faculty senate, and introduced several novel programs, including teaching a year of physics in the summer session. Always interested in computers, he accepted the post as chair of Academic Computing, where he built up the campus infrastructure, and made computing available to the students.
A particularly dark bend in the road came with the death of Hattie in 1985. A few years later a friend’s matchmaker intuition proved right and Lee married Faye Randolph in 1989. Faye had 10-year old twins, Carol and Daryl, whom Lee considered as his own.
Retirement was not to be idle for him as God soon directed him into a new adventure. He began teaching chemistry at Trevecca Nazarene University. God had another surprise bend in the road and directed Lee to take classes there. He received a Masters in Biblical studies at the age of 75. A few years later his newest degree qualified him to provide individual instruction to Daryl who wanted to pursue ministerial studies.
Lee authored several books in his retirement, and continued to study the Bible. His writings included devotionals and commentary, always wanting to make the Bible accessible to everyone. He taught a Sunday School class every week for most of his life. He was a member of Florence First Church of the Nazarene for 60 years and as an ordained elder held positions as Associate Pastor, Director of Education and many other roles as he served the church and the community.
He was willing to try nearly any project and was great at figuring out how to complete it. He enjoyed trips across the U.S. to see the wonders God had created and to visit with family. He also enjoyed woodworking and made several pieces of furniture.
Lee never met a stranger and would often find an opportunity to tell someone about his Lord. He frequently offered to pray with people and didn’t mind if that moment came in a public place. Later in life when he happened to meet a former student he was often told, “You changed my life.”
The final bend in the road came with a diagnosis of dementia. God was faithfully with him to the end, and Lee’s desire to honor God was evident to those who cared for him.
Lee was preceded in death by his parents, E.C and Julia Allison; his brother, Richard Allison; and his first wife, Hattie. He is survived by his brother, John Allison; his wife, Faye Allison; his children, Don Allison, Joan Wellman (and husband Jim), Jan Bodenstab (husband Tim), Julia Shew (husband Sandy), Carol Colvin, and Daryl Randolph (and wife Miranda); grandchildren David Wellman (wife Ashten), Allison Murrow (husband Mitchell), Nicholas Shew, Owenn Colvin, and William, Henry, David, Charlotte, and Mark Randolph and Jadon Eaton; and great-granddaughter Ember Wellman.
His family extended to include Faye’s grown children (Dennis, Phillip, Dawn, and Steve Williams), their spouses and children on whom he had a profound impact.
His funeral will be on Friday, February 3, 2023 at Florence First Church of the Nazarene,102 Fairground Road, Florence, AL at 2 p.m. The visitation will begin two hours prior to the service at 12 p.m. Burial will be in Edmond, OK. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Dr. Donald Lee Allison Ministerial Scholarship Fund at Trevecca Nazarene University, which will allow students from Alabama to follow God’s calling on their lives as they pursue a degree in the field of education or religion. Donations can be mailed directly to Trevecca at 333 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville, TN 37210, earmarked for this scholarship or made online at trevecca.edu/give. Please notate all donations in memory of Dr. Donald Lee Allison. Pastoral ministry and education were both close to his heart and he was thankful to see his legacy live on through all of his children as they chose to serve in careers in those fields.
The family would like to thank Dr. Doug Alford, Nurse Practitioner Troy Henderson, Hope Hospice, particularly Pam Love, caregiver Melissa Johnson and especially his night caregiver and CNA Doneisha (“D”) Smith for their excellent care, attention and love over the past years and especially months.
