Allen Joseph Darr, age 94, passed away Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Allen was born Jan. 21, 1928, in El Paso, to Elizabeth McCormick Darr and Oscar Darr.
Above all, Allen was a devoted family man. He was married to the love of his life, Kitty, for 68 wonderful years until she passed away in 2020. Together, they had a loving family of four children and seven grandchildren.
Allen called himself “the last of the Mohicans” because all his siblings passed before he did (Mary, Louise, Roy and Vernon.)
Allen always loved and supported his family, while he was gentle, kind, gentlemanly, fun, loving, happy and sociable. He was also steadfastly loyal and dependable.
He was very close to his brother, Roy. They rode their bikes all over El Paso.
When he was 16, he helped drive his sister Louise to California where her husband was stationed, and then he rode the rails back to El Paso.
He had to ask for his mother’s permission to join the Navy in WWII. He was a Seabee stationed on Okinawa and Guam.
He had to finish high school when the war ended. He dabbled in a few courses at Texas Western (now, UTEP), but then he made his lifelong career at the telephone company — from lineman to test deskman.
He met Kitty, a Baltimore-born, citygirl and took her rabbit hunting and to a western dance. She was smitten. Her father said he was “the best damn man she had ever dated, and she should keep this one!” He could fix anything, including the car when it went kaput on vacations.
After he retired, he and Kitty built a house in the country near Taylor and Thorndale, where he and his grandkids planted a bunch of fruit trees. He liked to ride around his little farm on his tractor. He loved music and he could play anything on his harmonica after listening to the song a couple of times.
He built beautiful dollhouses, bookcases, chairs and playhouses for his grandkids, and liked to carve faces on the ends of brooms. He was a wonderful cook, and everyone enjoyed coming to his house after a long car ride to be greeted with the wonderful smells and tastes of something delicious that “Pop” had made.
We will all remember his beautiful, big smile with his twinkling, blue eyes and cavernous dimples and how he always said he loved us whenever we left his house. We will never forget that.
Allen was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, his son, Allen Lee Darr, and wife Kitty.
Allen is survived by his children, Kathleen A. Darr (Ned Tuck), Daniel R. Darr (Michelle) and Michael J. Darr (Lisa); seven grandchildren, Meghan, Madeline, Joshua, Michael, Chloe, Kaitlyn and Zoe (Britt Billmeyer-Finn); as well as numerous nieces, nephews, family and friends.
A rosary will be held Wednesday, Jun 1, at 7 p.m. at Porter Loring Downtown Chapel, 1101 McCullough Ave in San Antonio.
A funeral Mass will be held Thursday, June 2 at 9:20 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 600 Oblate Dr. in San Antonio. Father Chris Muñoz will officiate.
Interment with military honors will follow at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in memory of Allen Darr to the SAMMinistries, 1919 N.W. Loop 410, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX 78213, 210-340- 0302, because Allen wa always worried about the homeless people living under the bridges.
Or, to the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA because he also worried about the plight of refugees: jrsusa.org, 202- 462-5200.
You are invited to sign the guestbook at www.porterloring.com. Arrangements entrusted to Porter Loring Mortuary.
