Robert "Wayne" Allen

“A man of God and a man of Love.”

Robert Wayne Allen, 96, of Paris, Tennessee, left this world to be with the Lord on January 11, 2024 at 12:28 am, after falling suddenly ill. He passed peacefully surrounded by his family.

Wayne was born on May 28, 1927 to Jesse Lee Allen and Lucille (Rayborn) Allen in Bemis, Tennessee. The family moved to Big Sandy, Tennessee in 1930, where he lived most of his childhood. After graduating from Springville High School in 1945, he was inducted into the Army to serve his country on August 28.

Most of his service time was spent near the Panama Canal. He was honorably discharged from his service on November 9, 1946, but he continued with the Army Reserves until 1949. He received Christ as His Savior in the year 1948, joining The Church of God of Prophecy in 1949, which launched a lifetime of serving His Lord. On June 26, 1950, he was set forth into the Ministry, where he received his pilot’s license and flew with the Church’s White Angel Fleet from 1952 to 1963.

While attending his third term of Bible Training Camp in 1952, he met his wife-to-be, then Jenna Spivey. It was during the General Assembly of that year that they became an unstoppable force of love, doing most of their dating via postal mail. Wayne and Jenna Allen were married at Wildwood Avenue Church in Cleveland, Tennessee on Sunday, April 12, 1953.

Wayne and Jenna went on to have a beautiful baby girl, Carla Jean Allen, on April 3, 1962. They knew they had struck gold with her, so they poured all of their love into their only child. On September 27, 1990, they were over the moon in welcoming their granddaughter, Brittany, into this world, and then they thanked God again when they received their grandson, Bobby, on December 19, 1992. On January 19, 2019, they were blessed with a great-grandson, Robby, and they could not have been happier.

Wayne went on to “retire” a few times starting in August of 1994, but he was always pulled back into the Lord’s work, serving as a pastor of many churches throughout the years, as well as countless other ventures. Anyone who knows Wayne knows he could never sit still, and was always helping someone with something. He received joy in the form of serving others, and that is one of the many things that make him so special.

Brother Allen was predeceased by his parents, Jesse and Lucille Allen, his sisters, Wanda Hartley, Betty Mathis, Willie Mae French, Ruth Zartman, and Kathaleen Walter, and his brothers, Ray and Roy Allen. Wayne is survived by his wife, Jenna Allen, daughter, Carla Clay, grandchildren, Brittany Allen and Bobby Clay, great-grandchild, Robby Clay, brother, Jim Allen and his wife, Vivian Allen, sister, Zelma Gross, and sister-in-law, Jemmie Allen. He leaves several nieces and nephews, many friends, and countless brothers and sisters in Christ.

Services will be held at the Church of God of Prophecy in Paris, Tennessee on Saturday, January 13, 2024, with the visitation at 11 am and service at 12:30 pm. Following the service, a procession will follow to McRae Chapel Ceremony in Big Sandy, Tennessee to lay his body to rest amongst his siblings. The church will be holding a fellowship dinner for anyone who would like to join to tell stories, reminisce, and celebrate the life of a wonderful man after the graveside service. We understand many loved ones will not be able to make it in such a short amount of time, so there will be a Facebook Live that can be accessed on the church’s website at the time of the service: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064785036811.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests any monetary donations for the service, as well as loving support and kind words for the family. Donations can be made at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/services-for-robert-wayne-allen

“Well done, thy good and faithful Servant.”