Durward Allen

Dr. Durward Brooks (D.B.) Allen, 67, OB-GYN, of Little Rock, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away on December 1, 2008 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. D.B. was born January 28, 1941 in Nashville, Arkansas, the first child of Cornelia (Shuffield) and Durward Allen. He was predeceased by his parents and his daughter, Mendy Allen of Little Rock.
After graduating Nashville High School in 1958 and attending Ouachita College, he graduated from UAMS in 1965. He began his OB residency in Little Rock after serving two years in the Air Force at Whitman AFB in Missouri.
D.B. was an obstetrician-gynecologist at The Woman's Clinic in Little Rock for thirty-four years, delivering over six thousand babies. With many, he was treating his third generation of patients. During his years of practice, he served on staff at St. Vincent Infirmary, Doctors Hospital and Baptist Hospital. He also maintained membership in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, the Arkansas State Medical Society, and the Pulaski County Medical Society where he served as president.
Those who knew D.B. remember his overwhelming generosity, loving spirit and work ethic. He was a friendly guy and loved giving each of his patients a big hug when they arrived for their visits. He felt like they were family; some said, "This is the only hug I get all year." D. B. truly loved the practice of medicine and will be greatly missed by his family, friends and co-workers
St. James United Methodist Church was important in his life, where he served as an active member, Sunday School teacher and Administrative Board member. D.B. loved sports, being an avid tennis player; he made many friends playing competitive tennis through the years. He also loved Razorback sports and watching his grandson, Davis, play elementary sports and his granddaughter, Laura, play soccer and basketball.
D.B. and his wife of twenty-three years, Lynda (Cook) loved to travel, visiting Europe for the first time on their honeymoon - "April in Paris" in 1985 - where they mistakenly threw away their return airline tickets the night before leaving. The tickets were retrieved from the waste basket in Versailles and rushed to the airport in Paris by a cabbie who spoke no English, arriving seconds before the airplane departed.
He also enjoyed coming home late in the afternoon to music floating through the house. Many nights found him and Lynda dancing in the kitchen. D.B. was beloved by his family and touched the lives of all who knew him. One of his greatest joys was being "Poppy" to his eight grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Lynda; son, Brooks and his wife, Kathy; daughters, Erin and husband, Dr. Scott Schoen and Lane and her husband, Michael Shreeve; and grandchildren, Kate and Patrick Erwin, Mary Grace and Davis Allen, Katie and Laura Schoen, Morgan Rullmann and Spencer Shreeve. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Dave Allen and wife, Cindy of Batesville.
The family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, December 4 at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.), Little Rock. After a private family burial, friends are invited to a Celebration of D.B.'s life at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, December 5 at St. James United Methodist Church, 321 Pleasant Valley Drive. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Pulaski County Medical Society and the doctors and staff of The Woman's Clinic.
Our love and appreciation go to the dedicated staff at Hospice Home Care Inpatient Facility on Bowman Road. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. James United Methodist Church or the Heifer Project, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202.
Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, (501)224-2200. Please sign D.B.'s online guestbook at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.