Allen R. Reaves

Allen R. Reaves, 89, passed into God’s hands on February 5, 2018, after a brief illness. He was born on August 11, 1928, in Blue Mountain, Mississippi. He was the fifth child of J.O. and Docia Reaves. He graduated from Blue Mountain High School and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Later, he received a Masters of Education from Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso) in 1956, after serving in the U. S. Army at Ft. Bliss from 1953 to 1954. He was a resident of El Paso for sixty five years.

Mr. Reaves was a lifelong educator. He started his teaching/coaching career in Palmer, Mississippi. After an early release from the military, he taught social studies at Ysleta High School in the Ysleta Independent School District, and later became an assistant principal at the elementary level. In 1958, he became first principal at Scotsdale Elementary School, a position he held for 28 years. He retired from YISD in 1986. During his educational years, he established the first driver education program for the state of Mississippi, organized peer tutoring programs and reading clubs for his students, and established the first district visually impaired class in 1974.

He was a member of Valley Congregational Church for 25 years, a charter member of Desert View Congregational Church, and later became a member of First Presbyterian Church, El Paso. As a member of Ysleta Lions Club, he held every office except secretary. He was one of the founding members of the El Paso Children’s Choir, and West Texas Lions Eye Bank where he served as executive director from 1986 until 1991. One of his greatest joys was providing the gift of sight to hundreds of individuals in the West Texas and Juarez areas.

Among his many awards and recognitions, he received the first El Leon Award as outstanding Lion of the Year 1969-70, and was later inducted into the Lions International Texas Hall of Fame in 1982, and received El Paso County Medical Society Layman’s Recognition Award in 1987. Both he and his wife were inducted in the Texas Retired Teacher Association Hall of Fame in 1993.

After retiring, he was active in the El Paso Drive-A-Meal program, serving as vice president and president from 1993 to 1996, and delivering meals twice a month to the elderly. He served on the board of directors for Knife and Fork, active and President of Ysleta Retired School Employees Association from 1993 until 1995, and assisted with property upkeep and improvements at Assistance League of El Paso. For thirteen years, he was active in the Junior Sun Bowl Parade. He had lifetime membership in PTA and Texas Retired Teachers Association. He was famous for his barbeque brisket, which was enjoyed by family and friends for many years.

Allen Reaves is survived by his wife of 66 years, Patsy Reaves; children, Barbara Verdery and husband Tom of Fayetteville, AR; Cathy Bishop and husband Calvin, of Franklin, TN; Prewitt Reaves and wife Julia, of Argyle, TX; and John Reaves and wife Celeste of Rio Rancho, NM; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, parents-in-laws, three brothers and one sister.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, February 24, 2018 at 11 AM in the chapel of Kaster Maxon & Futrell Funeral Home, 8817 Dyer Street. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Allen Reaves can be made to the educational scholarship fund of the Ysleta Retired School Employees Association, 11225 Leo Collins, El Paso, TX 79936.