Marsha Ann (Jennings) Allred

Marsha Jennings Allred died Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016, after a long illness.  She was 62. Services honoring her life are Friday, Dec. 30, at 1:30 p.m. at Highland Church of Christ, 425 Highland in Abilene with a reception to follow in the Highland atrium.  A family visitation is planned Thursday from 5-7 p.m. at Piersall-Benton Funeral Directors, 733 Butternut.
Marsha was born March 29, 1954, in Paducah, Kentucky, to James William and Jessie Lee Fields Jennings.  The youngest of their five children, she was reared by Jessie after her father died when she was only 18 months old. She grew up in Paducah and graduated from Paducah Tilghman High School.
As an undergraduate student at Abilene Christian University, Marsha was a leader and friend to many through her involvement in campus organizations and activities, especially Ko Jo Kai women’s social club, which she served as an officer and later as a sponsor for 38 years. In 1976, she earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry and in 1996 completed a Master’s of Education.
While a student at ACU, Marsha met Ed Allred. They married June 6, 1981, and had one daughter, Lauren Leighann Collins who inherited her mother’s passion for teaching and her creative spirit.
Together, Ed and Marsha served in many ministries, particularly at Highland Church where they taught 4’s and 5’s for many years, were a deacon couple and later an elder couple.  They ministered together in a Bible Study group and later a small group for a combined 30 years.  Marsha served on the Worship Committee, Missions Committee, and the Tables and Chairs Ministry that was responsible for the set up and tear down of every special event at Highland.  She was particularly passionate about Highland’s mission efforts in Brazil.
Well respected by local educators, Marsha spent her entire 36-year career at Cooper High School most of it in the same classroom, S-27, where she taught chemistry and biology. She was the science department head for more than 20 years.  She was honored by Cooper as the Yearbook Dedicatee in 2005. She was Texas Classroom Teachers Association campus representative at CHS and on the AISD Boundaries Committee.   She was a member of the Visiting Committee for the Department of Biology at ACU.  She was honored by the ACU Education Department with the Lucy Hatch Mentor Award and given the Reporter News Spotlight on Teachers Award in 2006.
Marsha was deeply committed to science education and loved inspiring, challenging and laughing with her students.  But she also had an entrepreneurial spirit and often said the left side of her brain needed a creative outlet.  She worked as a wedding planner and caterer for many young couples, an extension of her passion for serving and mentoring young adults.  She could throw a party, feed a crowd, create a lovely wedding and prided herself on making it something special.
As a classroom teacher, Kojie sponsor, and in her service to the church Marsha was known for her wisdom, independent spirit, and boundless hospitality.  She was a great storyteller and had a remarkable memory for details that included the middle names and hometowns of the hundreds of people who thought of her as one of their closest friends.
Marsha is survived by her husband, Ed, of Abilene and her daughter, Lauren Collins and husband Christopher of Bedford.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her oldest sister Louise.  She is also survived by one sister, Sue Hiland and husband Eddie of Nashville; by two brothers, James Jennings and wife Nancy of Crestwood, Kentucky, and Norris Jennings and wife Jeanne of Louisville, Kentucky, and a brother-in-law Joe Henry of Prospect, Kentucky.   Other survivors include Ed’s mother Betty Allred of Abilene, and his siblings:  Jerry and Brenda Allred of Leander and Elaine Allred of Dallas, and by many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.
Memorial gifts are welcomed by Highland Church of Christ Missions Committee or Children's Ministry, 425 Highland, Abilene, TX 79605, or the Ko Jo Kai Endowed Scholarship at ACU or the ACU Department of Theatre, ACU Box 29132, Abilene, TX 79699 or www.acu.edu/giveonline.