Hester Marie Morrow Allen, 87, long time employee of the Board of Christian Education, widow of the Reverend Paul Wayne Allen, and sister of the late Reverend Hubert Morrow, died March 10, 2020. For BCE, Hester had primary responsibility for children’s ministry and the consultant program. She coordinated the publication of the Sunday school quarterly for grades two and three, wrote The Family Gathers for Worship, and, with Paul, Designs for Church Officer Training. She retired in 1998.

Hester was born to James Rufus Morrow and Myrtle Edith Dawson in Bethesda, Arkansas.  She met her husband Paul at Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee, and married in June 1958. Paul and Hester had two daughters, Maria and Laura. Hester earned her Master’s in Education from Memphis State University in 1974.  She went on to teach in Special Education in Tennessee and later worked for the State Board of Education in Illinois.

Hester was active in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where her husband Paul served as a minister before he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.  She lovingly cared for him during the many years of his illness before he died in 1996.  After she retired, she moved to LaVergne, Tennessee to be closer to her daughter Laura and became active in the Brenthaven Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Paul Allen Endowment for Christian Education at the Cumberland Presbyterian Ministry Council, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, TN 38016 or can be made to Brenthaven Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Brentwood, TN.

A memorial service will be held at Brenthaven Cumberland Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 14, 2020, at 2:00 pm with visitation starting at 1:00 pm. The church is located at 516 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.  The funeral service will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2020, at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN. Visitation at 1:30 pm followed by a service and burial at 2:30 pm.

We will post more information as it is received.

The Family Gathers for Worship

Designs for Church Officer Training