Allene Carey Files

June 15, 1914 - July 11, 2018

Allene Carey Files, age 104, died on July 11, a few days after a loving visit with extended family. Mrs. Files was kind, graceful, and refined - always interested, constantly learning, and forever optimistic.

Mrs. Files was born on June 15, 1914 in Okmulgee, Okla., to John Frederick Carey, an oilman, and Gertrude Spencer Carey, a teacher. Coming of age in both the economic boom of the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, she attended Texas Tech University until 1935, when a former Louisiana Tech University basketball star named Frederick Rimes "Hick" Files swept her off her feet into a long, blissful marriage.

The couple settled in Kilgore, where she was a devoted wife and mother to son F.R. "Buck" Files, Jr. Hick and Allene played bridge, danced, and golfed together; he served as a Rusk County judge, while she was elected to the Texas Democratic Executive Committee.

Mrs. Files loved nothing more than making a happy home for her family. She learned to cook her husband's favorite southern dishes, volunteered as a Cub Scout den mother for her son, and doted especially on her grandchildren, hosting them for countless weekend visits and teaching them to climb trees and ride bikes. After her husband died in 1978, Mrs. Files grieved deeply, but she continued working at Region 7 Education Service Center and, in time, persevered in her happiness.

Mrs. Files was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore, where she served as deacon, as well as the Presbyterian Women of the Church. She co-founded and was president of Kilgore's Club Au Courant and Evergreen Garden Club. She loved flowers and was a National Flower Show Judge; for 15 years she volunteered making bouquets for nursing home residents from the Sunday Flowers at church.

After 50 years in Kilgore, Mrs. Files moved to Tyler more than two decades ago, where she joined First Presbyterian Church of Tyler and First Literary Club.

In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Files was preceded in death by her great-granddaughter Lucy Meredith Beerline and by many close friends. She is survived by Buck an Robyn Files of Tyler, grandchildren Jennifer Files Beerline (Brentley) of Oakland, Calif., and F.R. "Trey" Files, III (Lisa) of Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and great-grandchildren Romy Files and Braden Beerline.

Her family thanks her many caregivers at Atria Copeland Senior Living and Park Place Skilled Nursing Center. A private burial service will take place at Kilgore Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, for general purposes or for the sanctuary flowers fund, or to a charity of one's choice.