William Lamar Allen, Jr.
December 23, 1936 – May 7, 2026 

William “Bill” Lamar Allen, Jr., age 89, of Clermont, FL, passed away on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at the Mike Conley Hospice House in Clermont, FL. He was born on December 23, 1936, in West Palm Beach, FL, where he was raised, to the late William Lamar Allen, Sr., and Edna (Winter) Allen. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior in his early years and kept true to the very end. After high school he went to Stetson University where he attended for one year before enlisting in the United States Marines Corps. Bill was stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC, and was assigned to play saxophone in the Marine band since he had been first-chair for saxophone in the Palm Beach High School Band. With the Marines he traveled to places outside the U.S., and even played for Queen Elizabeth II of England. It was while he was stationed at Camp Lejeune that he met the love of his life, Margaret Sparks Dobson, at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, NC. She had graduated from Appalachian State College with an Education degree and had gotten a job teaching on the Marine base at Camp Geiger and then near Camp Lejeune. They were married in Marion, NC, on December 28, 1957 and then returned to Camp Lejeune to finish out Bill's service the following year before moving to West Palm Beach, FL. They soon settled in Palm Springs, FL, where they would raise their four children. Bill and Margaret were active in Palm Springs Baptist Church where Bill was involved in leadership as a deacon and Margaret taught Sunday School. Bill worked in a career at Florida Power & Light while Margaret continued to teach in elementary schools. While working at FP&L, Bill also attained an AA degree from Palm Beach Junior College. In 1990, after all their children had all moved out, Bill was forced into early retirement so they decided to move to the Asheville, NC, area where they had intended to eventually retire and where Margaret’s mother was currently living. After much searching they found the perfect piece of land in Fairview, NC, to build their custom-designed house surrounded by mountains with a beautiful creek in their backyard and smaller creeks on each side of the property. Here they enjoyed all seasons and especially looked forward to the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day when all four kids would bring their families and spend the week together in their home making wonderful, lifetime-lasting memories. Though they loved their mountain home where they could sit on the back porch enjoying their coffee and listening to the stream, in 2013 they decided to move to Clermont, FL, where they could be closer to most of their children. They did not want to be a health-concern burden in their aging years to their out-of-state kids, but after moving actually ended up helping most of their children in one way or another with health issues of their own. They got plugged-in with a Life Group of fellow seniors at Church of the Cross in Ocoee, FL, and quickly made friends near their new Florida home.

Bill was a strong and loving leader who spent time daily in Bible reading and prayer. He was not a procrastinator and when he saw a problem he addressed it immediately. He was a patriot who loved his country. Bill loved his family deeply and looked forward to annual family reunions at Vogel State Park in the North Georgia Mountains, as well as fall trips to the mountains with his wife and children. Bill was and is truly an example and blessing to all his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He demonstrated the importance of faith and love, and leaves a Godly heritage in his wake that ripples through generations!

Besides his parents, Bill was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Margaret Allen by just 46 days; his sister: Caroline (Lou) Smith of Newberry, FL; his brother-in-law: John Brooker of Knoxville, TN and his wife’s siblings and spouses: Letha (Bill) Brown of Morganton, NC, Charles (Stella) Dobson of Asheville, NC, Mary Helen (Mac) McIntosh of Lansdale, PA, Ned (Arvin) Dobson of Seneca and Lewis Kyles of Garner, NC. 

Bill is survived by his 4 children: Steve (Nancy) Allen of Snellville, GA, Karen (Gary) Locuson, Greg Allen, and Sandy (Mitch) Blackburn - all of Groveland, FL; 13 grandchildren: Ian (Jenna) Allen, Ryan (Amanda) Locuson, Jeff (Lyndsey) Locuson, Brandon (Joanna) Allen, Gary (Brittany) Locuson, Jr., Lauren (Bryan) Stoddart, Coty (Tiffany) Kitchens, Holly (Westley) James, Aaron Kitchens, Shelby (Justin) Minnick, Brandon (Angela) Kitchens, Ashlyn Allen and Alyssa Allen; 28 great-grandchildren: Addie Allen, Devan Allen, Rachel Allen, Savannah Allen, Avery Allen, Charlie Locuson, Alina Nowak, Joshua Allen, Ava Stoddart, Clay Locuson, Caleb Locuson, Lily Stoddart, Norah Locuson, Corbin Locuson, Camden Locuson, Kate Allen, Kenzie James, Isla Stoddart, Caroline Allen, Maylyn Minnick, Aaron Kitchens, Jr., Eliza Allen, Griffin Minnick, Kaladin James, Jacob Stoddart, Luke Kitchens, Peter Allen and Keira James; 1 sister: Judy Brooker of Knoxville, TN; 2 sisters-in-law: Cecil (Daryl) Robertson of Warner Robins, GA, and Barbara Kyles of Willow Spring, NC and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be on Friday, May 15, 2026, from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM at Becker Funeral Home in Clermont, FL. A Celebration of Life service will be on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Church at South Lake in Clermont, FL. Interment will be on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:30 AM at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL.