Allen Waddell Flannagan Jr.

Mr. Allen W. Flannagan, Jr. 91, passed away peacefully in his home on Thursday, December 11, 2014. Allen was born on April 1, 1923, in Newport News, Virginia and was the oldest son of Allen Waddell Flannagan, Sr. and Dorothy Seward Flannagan. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Virginia Ford Flannagan; daughters, Kitty Flannagan Sheehan (Winston) and Johncie Flannagan Carlson (Tim); sons, Allen Waddell Flannagan, III (Lynn) and William Ford Flannagan; his grandchildren, Charles Winston Sheehan (Kayci), William Allen Sheehan (Elizabeth), Samantha Carlson, Jessica Carlson, Alex Carlson, and Josh Flannagan; two great-grandchildren, Winston and Myra Kate Sheehan. Allen is also survived by his brother Henry Flannagan (Grace) and many nieces and nephews.
Allen grew up in Louisa, Virginia, where he attended Louisa High School and was involved in Boy Scouts and baseball. He went to The University of Richmond. World War II interrupted his education and Allen served with the Chemical Corps with the US Army where he trained in New Orleans and then served in the Pacific. He became interested in a military softball team and the team became interested in his prowess and had him transferred to their unit, the 71st Evacuation Hospital near New Guinea. He remained active in the Army Reserves for 40 years. After the war, Allen returned to U of R to graduate with a degree in economics. His time at The University Richmond led Allen and his brothers to establish a scholarship fund set up initially to educate students from the Louisa, Virginia, area. Allen taught at Hopewell High School and coached several sport’s teams. While in Hopewell, Allen met, fell in love with, and married Diddy Ford, also a teacher. Allen retired from teaching and went to work at State Planters, now SunTrust where he worked for 34
years. Allen was involved in many aspects of his adopted hometown. He was among other things on the Board of Trustees for the John Randolph Foundation, in the Hopewell Rotary Club where he had decades of perfect attendance around the world, was a member of Hopewell Memorial Post 146 of the American Legion, involved in the Hopewell Preservation, a member of the Hopewell American Red Cross, Hopewell Community Chest, which became the United Way of Hopewell, and was on the Robert E. Lee Council of BSA.
Allen was a deacon at First Baptist Church of Hopewell where he was a member of the choir, taught Sunday School, served on various committees, went on a mission trip to Tanzania in 1989, and played and coached softball for over 50 years. His downtime found him traveling, working in his yard, working puzzles and watching his birds. The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 26, 2014 at the Hopewell Chapel of J. T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home and Cremation Service. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 27, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, Hopewell, Virginia. Interment will follow in Hillcrest Cemetery in Louisa, Va. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Flannagan Family Scholarship at The University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, Va. 23173, or First Baptist Church of Hopewell, 401 N. 2nd Ave., Hopewell, Va. 23860. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com .