William Bruce Allan of Dike Texas passed away peacefully at home on November 7, 2024, surrounded by his family and his beloved rescue dog Laydeigh.
Bill is survived by his daughters, Susan Allan Croft and husband Thomas of Springtown, Sharon Allan Mayo of Ft Worth, and his son Travis Allan of Denton. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Cody and wife Haley, Carson Croft, Cooper Croft, Austin Allan, Kaci Allan, and Jordan Mayo; nieces Miera Nagy and Emily Adams; nephews, John Stone and Andy Stone
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Florence Allan of Burbank California, his son Trevor Allan of Sulphur Springs, his sister Betty Stone of Boonesville, Arkansas, niece Jenni Stone Murillo, and his old roping horse Zip.
Bill was born in Montreal, Canada in 1946. He spent his early years in Canada but moved to California during his teen years where he graduated from Burbank High School and Cal Poly Technic State University. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp in 1965 and was honorably discharged in 1967 following a motorcycle accident.
Among his first of many careers, he was a dairy farmer and Ag teacher in Newport, Vermont. After moving to Texas in 1974, he continued in the dairy business and began a career in Farm and Ranch Real Estate. He sold the dairy in the mid 90’s and entered the realm of law enforcement as member of the Hopkins County Sheriff’s posse, later entering the police academy and becoming a sheriff’s deputy. He later took on the role of Hopkins County Constable and enjoyed eight years of service, making many friends (and a few enemies) along the way. His final career choice landed him as the court Bailiff for Hopkins County. He retired (officially) in 2020, but still enjoyed filling in at the court when needed.
Never one to meet a stranger, Bill enjoyed his church families at St James Catholic Church for many years and in recent years at Sulphur Spring First Baptist. He spent time singing and playing the guitar in each choir and kept his fellow Sunday School members laughing and smiling with his quick wit and silly jokes.
Bill loved to travel and see new things. He especially enjoyed his annual beach trips with his children and grandchildren where they spent every day on the beach and every evening as a family, watching movies or playing games on the deck. He had traveled to every state in America, with the exception of Alaska. Road trips with the grandkids were another of his favorite ways to see the sights and he spent many hours allowing them to choose the routes and the sights to see.
He will be remembered as a loving and proud father, grandfather, and a friend to everyone he met. He lived his motto of “be kind to people and they’ll be kind to you.”
Visitation will be Saturday, Nov 9th from 5:00-7:00pm at West Oaks Funeral Home with services Sunday Nov 10th at 2:00pm also at West Oaks. Burial will follow at Sulphur Bluff Cemetery.
