Allen Lamar Loftin

BEDFORD -- Allen Lamar Loftin departed this natural life on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, surrounded by the love and comfort of his immediate family. Service: A viewing and visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Foust & Son Funeral Home, 523 S. Main St., Grapevine, 76051, 817-481-2525. Lamar will then be carried to Oklahoma where there will be a viewing and visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at Brown Funeral Home, 400 W. Queen Ave., Coalgate, Okla. 74538, 580-927-2101. A service will be conducted there on Friday, Feb. 5. Burial will be in the Wardville, Okla., cemetery. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations in Lamar's memory and Jean's honor to the Tarrant County Food Bank, 2600 Cullen St., Fort Worth, Texas 76107, 817-857-7100, the Wardville Cemetery, care of Tammy Shirley, 38524 State Highway 31, Coalgate, Okla. 74538, or the charity of your choice. Lamar, born June 26, 1934, in Union County, Ark., to Willie Mitchel Loftin and Julia Harriett Wilson Loftin, was the fifth of six children. Willie and Julia were sharecroppers whose family experienced extreme poverty, and an exceptionally hard, back-breaking life for many years. From this upbringing Lamar learned the invaluable lessons of hard work, self-sacrifice, and dedication to family. When Lamar was 15, the Loftin family moved from Arkansas to White Settlement, where Lamar graduated from Fort Worth Technical High School in 1952. While employed at what was then Consolidated Aircraft (subsequently General Dynamics, and now Lockheed), he met and married a beautiful young lady from Oklahoma, Jean Ann Hooe, with whom he shared a similar background, and who became his loving and dedicated wife and steadfast best friend and partner of 62 years. Lamar and Jean are the proud parents of Vivian Ann Loftin Trojack and James Allen Loftin. Lamar embodied an entrepreneurial spirit, owning several machine shop-focused businesses throughout his career. Because he started various businesses, they lived in several different cities in Texas and Oklahoma, with their ultimate retirement home in Bedford, to be close to their children. Lamar was an extremely hard-working, quiet, soft-spoken, and introverted man, but a man on whom his family knew they could rely. His mechanical and handyman skills were unparalleled and much appreciated by those who benefited from it. He was passionate about woodworking, evidenced by grandfather clock and other pieces of furniture in his and Jean's home that he made. Jean's family, who became Lamar's second family, experienced his constant willingness to help them without any expectation of (or want of) fanfare or accolades. The family wishes to express deep appreciation and gratitude to all of their friends, family and caregivers who have supported them through this difficult time, and especially Lamar's and Jean's pastors and friends from Brown Trail Church of Christ where they are members. His brothers, Rahe and Owen, preceded him in death. His predeceased in-law family members are Earl and Ollie Hooe, Joe Carr, Ray and Ruby Williams, Bob and Eva Carr, Cleve Hooe, Harold and Naomi Pemberton, RE Hooe and Jeraldine Hooe. Survivors: His immediate family, wife, Jean Ann Hooe Loftin; daughter, Vivian Ann Loftin Trojack; son, James Allen Loftin; daughter-in-law, Terri Lumley Loftin; and son-in-law David C. Shiring (both of whom he considered his additional daughter and son). He is also survived by his sisters, Olice and Omalea; and brother Dwayne. His surviving in-law family members are Elizabeth Carr, Paul Hooe, Bill and Maggie Daniel, Katherine Hooe, Joyce Hooe, and Joy Hooe. Lamar is also survived by a multitude of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews too many to list, from both sides of his family.