MARY LOU ALLEN

Born December 31, 1936, to Willie Sr. and Pauline Patterson, Mary Lou Patterson Allen was one of six children.  She was a native Houstonian, born and raised in Third Ward and a proud graduate of Jack Yates High School, Class of 1955. After graduation, she dedicated her life as a housekeeper. On December 3, 1955, she married Sie Allen, Jr., became a housewife and together they raised seven children in a home filled with good food, loud laughter and unconditional love. She dedicated her life to her family as a full-time wife, mother and grandmother.
 
Mary Lou’s kitchen was her stage—her made-from-scratch pound cake, peach cobbler, tea cakes, chicken & dumplings and dinner rolls could silence a room, and her German Chocolate Cake had folks lining up like it was Communion Sunday. If you didn’t get a slice early, you were just out of luck—and you knew better than to ask for the recipe.  But it was on Sunday mornings that she truly performed. She had a love of gardening, tended with love and made sure her house on the corner was well manicured.  The self-proclaimed Diva of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church turned the church aisle into a runway, dressed head to toe in coordinated suits, perfectly matched hats, 4-inch heels, and a handbag to match. She didn’t just enter a room—she arrived. She also served as the secretary for Mission #1 where she was very thorough in her note taking, a Deaconness and a faithful member of the Prayer Team. Even throughout her illness, she continued to be an active member of the church, tuning in on Sunday Mornings from home. 
And then there were the “Mary’isms.” Part one-liner, part life lesson, they were delivered with perfect comic timing and a side-eye that needed no translation:
“A hit dog will holler!”
“You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make him drink!”
“Every tub has got to sit on its own bottom!”
“That kissa!”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”
“Don’t pick no shade tree for me to sit under.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers”
Each saying left the room in stitches and somehow wiser!

She was preceded in death by her parents, Willie Sr. and Pauline Patterson; brothers Willie Jr., Herman and Louie; sister Geraldine; husband Sie Allen, Jr. and children Jacquelyn Williams and Anthony Allen.
She leaves to celebrate her legacy: her children, Sie Allen III (Yola), April Richardson (Kermin Sr.), David Allen (Tieisha), Brian Allen, and Katrina Wright (Reginald); son-in-law Lorenzo Williams; daughter-in-law Phyllis Allen; sister Deborah Davis; sister-in-law Mildred Patterson; grandchildren Alicia Whetstone (Quincy), Brandon Williams, Monique Moss (Mario—Gracee, Grayson), Kermin Richardson, Jr., Treson Allen (Craneshia—Charlie, Jelani, Portland), Kemin Richardson, Kendall Allen, Taylor Allen (Cassidy), Tatum Allen, Tayah Allen, Tyler Allen, Reid Wright, Nehemiah Miller, Essence Byrd, and Ebony Byrd; Cassandra Tennon (Darron) and a joyful host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.   

A beacon of love and strength, Mary Lou’s legacy lives on through her family and the many lives she touched. She will be deeply missed but forever remembered in our hearts.