Allan Lueck

November 13, 1940 - January 30, 2022

Allan Lueck, son, husband, father, friend, magician, passed quietly from this life at his home on Sunday, January 30, 2022. Allan was described by his many friends as caring, kind, thoughtful, amazing, funny, classy, dependable, faithful, unique, honest, nice, sensitive, bald, sweet, respectful and loving. Allan was known as a devoted Christian, a perfect gentleman, and “one of Temple’s best.” He had a quick wit and constant flow of jokes. He was described by some as “the town bard” because everywhere he went he had a story.

Allan was born November 13, 1940, to Thetis Ogle and William Lester Lueck. Bill Lueck was well known and loved in Temple as Bill or Willie. Allan was immensely proud to sponsor his dad into membership in the Lions Club when Bill retired from his Gulf Service Station at 75 years of age. Allan loved and respected his parents and cared for his mother for the last two years of her life.

Allan was a happy child, who was a ringleader on North 7th street in Temple with his many friends in the neighborhood. All of Allan’s childhood pictures are characterized by his sweet, devilish grin. The adults loved him as much as the children.

At the age of 6, Allan received a Peter Rabbit magic kit for Christmas. He became enthralled with the magic tricks and the fun that he was able to create for his friends in the garage. His enthusiasm for magic never waned. Thetis put up with live doves, guinea pigs, and other animals, all of which, at one time or another, were produced from thin air in one of his many tricks. By the age of 13, Allan was performing magic to school, church, and civic groups all over Temple. He became synonymous with magic in Central Texas.

Allan developed many interests and always pursued them intensely. He rarely started a hobby or skill and dropped it. In junior high school, he could be seen at various school events making 8mm movies of his classmates. Family events were all preserved in Allan’s “movies.”

In junior high school, Allan was a cheerleader at Central Junior High School - always laughing or smiling. He had a brief stint playing the drums in the band. In high school, he was a champion debater and cultivated his gift for public speaking.

Allan graduated from Temple High School in 1959. He received a BBA from Texas Technological College in 1964 and attended Baylor Law School.

In 1959 when Allan came home from Tech for Christmas vacation, he had his first date with Anne Gillespie. They had both grown up in First United Methodist Church and had always known each other but became friends with their first date. Courting centered around attending church together. They married June 23, 1962, at First United Methodist Church and lived a wonderful 59-year love story.

After college, Allan worked for The Aetna Insurance Company in Houston for several years. Allan honed his knowledge and skill in the insurance industry. In 1970, Allan and Anne decided to return to Temple. Allan established himself as an independent insurance agent and owned his own insurance business in Temple for over 40 years. He held designations of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Chartered Financial Consultant (CFC). He held offices in several Central Texas insurance and estate planning organizations.

Shortly after returning to Temple, Allan and Anne were blessed with the birth of Allison Carroll Lueck. Allan adored his daughter for her spirit, energy, intelligence and creativity. He was always awed by Allison’s talent as a gourmet cook and loved special dinners at her home. He brought her into his insurance agency in 2003, and she has continued her career as an insurance consultant.

Upon returning to Temple, Allan dove into community life in Temple with fervor. One of his first acts was to join the Temple Founder Lions Club. Allan had admired the Lions as he was growing up and was enamored with the Lions Follies that he had attended and performed in throughout his early years. As was his way, he quickly immersed himself in the club, ultimately holding all the offices, including president in 1980-81, participating in the Lions Follies and doing all the tasks that good Lions do for Temple. He was Lion of the year in 1973 and received numerous awards from the club through the years. In June 2021, Allan was awarded Life Membership in the Temple Founder Lions Club, celebrating 51 years of service.

Allan’s enthusiasm for service to Temple and the Central Texas community was evident through his dedication to many agencies and services. He and Anne were active in First United Methodist Church. They served as sponsors of the Methodist Youth Fellowship and Allan taught Sunday School for 50 years. Within five years of his return to Temple, Allan was named 1975 Outstanding Young Man of Temple by the Jaycees.

He served several terms on the Chamber of Commerce Board and in 1978 was chairman of the Chamber’s Annual Party with President Gerald Ford as speaker. He served as president of the United Way of Greater Temple in 1976. Allan was influential on the founding boards of several organizations including Child Help, Inc., Temple Community Clinic, and Cen-Tex Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center.

Allan was passionate about the creation and development of the Temple Community Clinic. He served twice as president. When he was president in 2013, the theme of the Caring Ball was “Magic in the Air” featuring a performance by a professional magician.

In 1970, Allan and Gary Gosney began a lifelong friendship that enriched the lives of the two of them and their families and brightened the lives of many people in the community.

Allan and Gary performed countless skits at shows and meetings. They performed together in many spotlight productions at Temple Civic Theater. Their partnership culminated in five productions of the GREATER TUNA series of plays between 2001 and 2015. Many people still recall Allan as “Didi Snavely” and “Petey Fisk.” Allan and Gary had impeccable timing as a team. Their first run of GREATER TUNA in 2001 raised enough money to pay off the mortgage of the Temple Civic Theater.

Allan worked behind the scenes at the theater as well as on stage and served as president twice. Additionally, he served several years on the board of the Temple Symphony Orchestra.

In April 2014, Knob Creek Masonic Lodge, No. 401, presented the Community Builder Award to Allan and Anne, for “distinguished service and personal contributions to the community of Temple, Texas.”

Allan never waned in his passion for magic. At the age of 15, he joined the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) at the convention in Houston. In 2016, he achieved the designation of Order of Merlin Excelsior for 60 years of continuous service, and in 2017 he was awarded the Presidential Citation from the International President of IBM, Oscar Munoz, Jr. Allan earned the order of Willard 50 year service award from the Texas Association of Magicians in 2013.

Allan continued to share his magic throughout his adult life with the assistance of Anne. In later years, he called himself the “Old Geezer Magician.” He said that he enjoyed the shows more than his audiences did. He always proclaimed,“I love to use my magic to create fun for others.” Allan and Anne said that magic was “a way of life.” They sought out magic, magicians and the magic community wherever they traveled and made many “magic friends” along the way.

Allan and Anne both retired in December 2007. They immediately began traveling. Allan said he had seen a lot of the world but he wanted to see the United States. They road-tripped all over the United States, East and West, visiting many national parks, monuments, cities, small towns - whatever was on the route.

In 2013, Allan began to have problems with his memory. After intensive and repeated tests and studies over 5 years, he was diagnosed in 2017 with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD), a rare degenerative condition. FTD brings a gradual, progressive decline in behavior, language and movement. There are no cures or treatments to slow or stop the progression. Allan’s disorder affected the right side of the brain where the memory systems reside. Allan slowly began to lose the ability to recognize the people he had known and loved for years. He was able to relate to people and continue to tell jokes to everyone but rarely knew who he was entertaining.

Allan and Anne were determined to experience as much of life as they could. They continued to travel for weeks at a time to explore this great country. Between 2015 and 2018, Allan drove more than 17,000 miles across the US, telling jokes every day in every restaurant or venue they visited. When Allan decided it was time for him to give up driving in 2018, Anne took over driving, and on other trips they cruised to many wonderful places.

In January 2020, they underwent two intensive weeks of research testing at the University of California at San Francisco to learn more about Allan’s condition and to contribute to the search for answers to FTD. The pandemic brought isolation and escalation of decline. Allan was always in good spirits but isolation and progression of the disorder caused him to lose his ability to remember and share jokes - his hallmark for many years. Allan was able to stay in the home that he and Anne shared for 48 years. To the end, Allan was able to recognize Anne and Allison, a gift they cherish. Allan’s last contribution was to donate his brain to UCSF so that the tests and studies collected in 2020 could be compared to the brain tissue.

Allan is survived by his wife, Anne; his daughter, Allison Carroll Lueck; her partner, Stephen Seaton, and his children, Dustin and Danielle. He is also survived by cousin, Fredrick Ogle and his wife, Carolyn, of Houston.

Allan Lueck leaves a legacy of love, laughter, and faith. He experienced life, loved people and shared his talents throughout his 81 years. Many people benefitted from his gifts. He will live long in their hearts.

Interment will be at 3pm Friday afternoon, February 11, with visitation at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home from 5-7pm. Memorial service will be 10:30am, Saturday February 12, at First United Methodist Church, 102 N. Second St, Temple.

Members of the Temple Founder Lions Club will be honorary pall bearers.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to: Temple Community Clinic (1905 Curtis Elliott Drive, Temple, 76501), Temple Founder Lions Club Parks and Charities Foundation (P.O. Box 544, Temple, 76503-0544) and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (2700 Horizon Drive, Suite 120, King of Prussia, PA 19406).

The Saturday morning service will be available on live stream at fumctemple.org/live or on YouTube channel FUMCTEMPLE.