Growing up in Glen Allen revolved around Glen Allen Store. The faces, scenes, and smells as familiar as home.  We experienced our first  financial transaction returning empty bottles for money that was unwisely spent on candy bars, ice cream, or soft drinks. Some of us learned our first lesson about “thou shalt not steal” right at the candy display. I remember the old store with it's cold floors, high ceiling, and Finn Wood running the meat department. Mr. Allen, always a friend to my family, was as kind a merchant as you would find. Bum Willis, Woodrow Moss, and the cast of characters that worked at the store made life full and sweet for any child. Nothing changed about it's  nature when the store moved down the road and across the street.  Many of us got their first job working there.  Although he had no children of his own, he shaped our characters during our early adult years. I will always remember those days and miss them today.  Thank you Dunie for being like a second dad, an employer, a friend, and a great example of a good man. God holds you now but you will always be in our hearts.

Doonie and his father before him managed the only grocery story in Glen Allen.  Occasionally, it was a Foodbank.  My grandmother, raising four children during the Depression, needed help feeding them.  Mr. Allen extended credit with very lenient terms. Sometimes, according to my grandmother, he forgave the debt.  I wouldn't be surprised if Doonie followed in those Christian footsteps.  RIP