Allen Ray Itz

Born in Harlingen, TX on February 25th, 1944 to Raymond and Nina Itz, Allen spent his childhood growing up in La Feria with his brothers, Douglas and Richard.

It was at a young age in the Rio Grande Valley that Allen developed his love for the written word and this love remained near to his heart for the rest of his life.

Allen graduated from La Feria High School in 1962 and took a number of jobs including working for a Houston area newspaper. He believed strongly in the freedom of the press, which led him to seriously contemplate a career as a journalist.

He spent a few months in the fall/winter of 1964 training for the Peace Corps. He would always remember this time fondly, riding horses and camping in the Sandias Mountains as he enjoyed the opportunity to see a world outside of South Texas, but ultimately, Allen in the Peace Corps was not to be.

Choosing a career would have to be postponed as he joined the Air Force in 1966. He scored very high on his service exams and was placed into the Air Force’s intelligence program. He became a Russian linguist and performed intelligence functions abroad, particularly enjoying the time he spent stationed in Germany, until his service ended in 1969.

Upon leaving the military he earned a sociology degree from Southwest Texas State University in 1971.

Allen then found his passion for public service and dedicated his career to it, believing that helping people was one of the higher callings. He spent 25 years working for the Texas Employment Commision (now TWC), rising through managerial roles in South Texas, eventually making his way to Regional Director in San Antonio. He retired briefly in 1998 before spending a handful of years working for United Way of the Coastal Bend as their Community Director and for the Coastal Bend Workforce as their Planning Director.

Through his work with TEC in the Rio Grande Valley he met the love of his life, Dora Ramirez, in 1976. They were married on February 26th, 1977 and they spent the next 46 years together. True best friends and devoted companions. They had one child, Christopher Allen, in 1983.

A quiet man by nature, a person would be well served to listen carefully when he spoke or run the risk of missing some bit of deep wisdom. He had a first-rate sense of humor and jokes would weave their way through this imparted wisdom.

Upon his retirement from the State government, Allen became a self-described “second-life poet”. He created thousands of poems over the past 25 years, many of them are collected in the six poetry books, including the printed Seven Beats a Second, that he published. He also published one book of short fiction, Sonyador, and a book of flash fiction, Peace in our Time.

In more recent years, Allen enjoyed painting, creating countless delightful pieces that decorated the patio at his home.

In addition to his second life as a poet and artist, Allen loved spending time in his backyard, nurturing it over many years and transforming it into a wonderfully whimsical space that served as his sanctuary from the incessant, ever-growing complexities of the modern world. When the brutal Texas summer finally relented and the first crisp fall day of the season blessed San Antonio, Allen loved to sit by his chimenea, tending the fire and enjoying the company of his beloved animals.

Allen was predeceased by his parents, Raymond and Nina Itz and his two brothers, Douglas Vickers and Richard Itz.

Allen is survived by his devoted wife, Dora Ramirez-Itz, and his son, Christopher Allen Itz (Jessica Wolk). He is also survived by 13 nieces and nephews, and a number of great nieces and nephews and brothers/sisters-in-law as well as his mother-in-law, Nina Martinez.

Allen will be honored at a celebration of life on June 29th from 11am-1pm. As Allen was a lifelong lover of animals, we ask that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made to a local animal shelter.