ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 28, 1993                   TAG: 9312280190
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OBIT ALLEN, JOHN ALEXANDER

ALLEN, John Alexander, ("Lex"), 71, of Roanoke, died Tuesday, December 21, 1993, about twelve hours after a car accident just south of Augusta, Ga. He and his wife were on their way to spend Christmas with family in Florida. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. E. A. Goldenweiser, and by his first daughter, Jessica. His wife, Mary Josephine survived the accident uninjured. He leaves also two daughters, Margaret Allen, Catawba, Elizabeth Rhymer, Naples, Fla.; two granddaughters, Ellie and Mary Rhymer; one sister, Margaret Kamarck, Brewster, Mass.; two nieces, Ellen Davies and Elizabeth Minnich; a nephew, Martin Kamarck. Officially retired in 1992 from 37 years in the English department at Hollins College, Dr. Allen continued his teaching in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at the college. Over the years he had taught courses in Shakespeare and Chaucer, among others, and was involved in the college's acclaimed creative writing program from its inception. He is the author of a book of original poetry, "The Lean Divider" (1968), and of a wide array of occasional poems as yet uncollected. His academic focus had been the study of archetypal themes and images in literature, an interest also reflected in his many critical reviews and essays. "Hero's Way," an anthology of poems with commentary exploring these ancient archetypes, was published in 1971. Dr. Allen received his B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1943. After service as a junior officer in the Navy during the final years of World War II, he earned a B.A./M.A. from Brasenose College, Oxford, England. In 1954, he received a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to Hollins, he taught briefly at Swarthmore and at U.N.C. Chapel Hill. For three years he was instructor in English at the University of Rochester. A memorial service will be held January 15, 1994, 3 p.m., in the Hollins College Chapel. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to The Women's Center and Liberal Studies program at Hollins College. 


 by CNB