Allen Breed Lovekin

Allen Breed Lovekin, age 90, of Apex passed away on Thursday, May 30, 2024. He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on April 8, 1934. As a young child he lived with his father, mother and two older brothers in Briarcliff, New York. He began taking piano lessons at age 6.

He continued enjoying the piano into his late 80's, playing everything from popular and folk music by ear to Rachmaninoff and Grieg. At times he would suddenly start composing beautiful music that sounded to listeners like it came from another world.

At age 9, Allen moved to Tucson, Arizona and from that time on was a great lover of the Southwest and of mountains. He also loved trees. He studied at the University of Arizona and Oberlin College, then at Harvard Divinity School and the United Theological College in Bangalore, India. His desire to work in underdeveloped areas led him to Hartford Seminary to study linguistics and Syracuse University for literacy journalism.

In 1963 he married his college friend Joan Timmins. They raised four children. They joined a Christian literacy project, Koinonia of Liberia in West Africa from 1963 to 1967. They then lived for 22 years in New Mexico where Allen was an Employment Counselor for the state Department of Labor. After his retirement from the state, the couple spent four and a half years in Zaire with another Christian literacy program, Literacy and Evangelism International [LEl).

They continued traveling for LEI to various African countries, Bulgaria and Peru, helping to write literacy primers. They also wrote and illustrated easy-to-read booklets for new readers which have been used in literacy classes in several countries. During Allen's last years he and his wife lived in New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina.

But how can a listing of towns, schools and workplaces sum up a person's life? It cannot. Those are not the things we remember most about Allen. We remember his love of beauty and of music, his willingness to take on new challenges, his almost boundless energy, humor and keen insights, his love of mountains and of hiking, and foremost, his love of God. He was an accomplished musician and passed on his love of music to his children. He also passed on to them his strong Christian faith. His children remember his readiness to help people in need at any time, anywhere. They remember several times of traveling across the country with him as he exposed them to new places and new experiences.

Allen passed out of this life into the arms of Jesus on Thursday morning, May 30th after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Joan, daughter Sarah and her husband Abran and their three sons, son Luke and his wife Kim and their two sons, the three children of their daughter Shanti, three half brothers and various other relatives.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 11:00 AM, at Trinity Community Church, 1650 Old Apex Road, Cary, North Carolina.

Donations in memory of Allen can be made to Literacy and Evangelism International in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory/story of Allen or a message of condolence to his family, you may do so below within "Add a Memory".