Lee Norcross Allen, longtime history professor at Samford University, died Dec. 16. He was 98.
A native of Shawmut, Allen moved to Montgomery at age 5 and was baptized at 12 at First Baptist Church.
At 16, he enrolled in Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). He was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II, and after recovering from severe training injuries, he returned to Auburn to study history and political science. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, writing his thesis on women’s suffrage in Alabama.
Allen served in residence at the University of Pennsylvania from 1949 to 1952 as Harrison Fellow. He was
awarded a Ph.D. with distinction in 1955. He taught history at Eastern Baptist College (now Eastern University) in suburban Philadelphia from 1952 to 1961.
40 years at Samford
Allen became a professor of history at Samford in 1961 and stayed in that role for 40 years. He was also the founding dean of Samford’s School of Graduate Studies in 1965 and dean of Howard College of Arts and Sciences from 1975 to 1990.
From 1990 to 2001, Allen was university historian for Samford, creating the manuscript for “College to University: Samford on Lakeshore.” Along with the manuscript is a voluminous historical archive of Samford housed in the university’s Special Collection.
During his years at Samford, Allen was first a member of Ruhama Baptist Church, then of Mountain Brook Baptist
Church. He was also a charter member of Meadow Brook Baptist Church. In each of his Birmingham churches, he served as deacon, teacher, historian and church clerk. His work as church clerk at Mountain Brook Baptist covered 30 years, and he was named Life Deacon.
Prolific writer of Baptist history
Allen was president of both the Southern Baptist Historical Society and the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission. He was a prolific writer, especially concerning Baptist history. He co-authored the history of Ruhama Baptist Church and wrote two histories each of FBC Montgomery, Mountain Brook Baptist and the Birmingham Baptist Association (now Birmingham Metro Baptist Association).
He also wrote histories of five other churches, the history of the City of Boaz, and the history of Montgomery Baptist Hospitals. He was co-author of two biographies: “Courage to Care: The Story of Ida V. Moffett” and “Christ Is Our Salvation: The Life of Paul P. Piper.”
He taught Baptist history and missions for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Birmingham extension from 1985 to 1988.
Allen is survived by his wife of 61 years, Catherine; son, Leland; daughter, Leslie; and two granddaughters.
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