Billy Gene “Bill” Allen of Searcy, Arkansas passed away on Thursday, December 26, 2024, at the age of 82. He was born on March 24, 1942 in Newport, Arkansas, and graduated from Beedeville High School in 1960.
Bill moved to San Jose, California in 1962, and worked for the Ford Motor Company. He married Paulette (Hay) Allen in Reno, Nevada in 1963, and the two enjoyed 61 years of marriage.
They returned to Beedeville in 1968, where Bill ran the DX service station for ten years before taking over management of his father-in-law’s farm. In 1990, he and Paulette began Allen Manufacturing Company in Newport, Arkansas. They operated their company, manufacturing farm implements, until their retirement in February 2011. Bill and Paulette enjoyed their retirement on the White River in Mountain View, Arkansas, until recently moving to Searcy.
Even in retirement, Bill enjoyed dabbling in real estate and was an avid sports fan. Above all, he loved his family and considered their happiness his own.
Bill was preceded in death by his daughter, Donna Allen Stage; his parents, Adolph “Red” and Irene Allen; and one sister, Peggy Taylor.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Paulette, of Searcy; one son, Brad Allen, and his wife, Melissa, of Judsonia; two grandchildren, Tyler Stage and his wife, Mariel, of Dallas, Texas, and Hannah Allen of Judsonia; and two great-grandchildren, Henry and Jack Stage, of Dallas, Texas. Additionally, he was survived by his sisters, Marjorie Breckenridge, who passed away one day after him on December 27, 2024, and Debbie Hembrey and her husband, Rick, of Newport. He is also survived by his aunt, Tina Lou Moore, of Pangburn, as well as a lifetime of friends.
Friends may visit at Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home on Saturday, December 28, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Graveside services are 2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 29, 2024, at Sylvania Cemetery in Lonoke County.
Those honored to serve as pallbearers are Nathan Dabbs, Braden Dodds, Jack Newman, Jim Safley, Eric Smith, and David St. John.
Arrangements by Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home.
