Former Reed district teacher Jim Allen was known for his unwavering support of students

Jim Allen, a beloved former Reed Union School District educator who taught generations of local students in his 30 years in the classroom, died Nov. 21 of natural causes at his home in Kentfield. He was 91.

Allen taught at Reed Elementary School, Del Mar Middle School and the former Reedland Woods Middle School for roughly a quarter century, from about 1964 to 1990. Reedland Woods was located at what is now Congregation Kol Shofar.

After retiring from teaching, Allen volunteered as a docent at Angel Island State Park and at the Marin Civic Center. He became a sought-after guide leading tours for schoolchildren of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building.

“He got energy from it, and the kids got energy from him,” said Joan Brown, Allen’s long-term partner who formerly served as the head of the Civic Center volunteer program. She called his presenting style “very combustible.”

“I remember so distinctly he was the first one who ever said to me the sentence, ‘You are a writer,’” said New York Times bestselling author Jasmin Darznik, who grew up in Tiburon and was one of Allen’s students. “And you know, that’s a pretty tremendous thing to hear at any age, I think, but especially when you’re in middle school and you’re just beginning to find who you are. It was a wonderful moment that I’ve never forgotten.”

James Carlton Allen was born May 25, 1934, in Los Angeles to salesperson Charles Carlton Allen and advertising model Genevieve Donahue. Allen — no relation to the local Allen family that owns the Belvedere Land Co. — had one younger brother, Ron, two half-siblings and a stepsibling.

He split his childhood between Beverly Hills and Berkeley and attended San Francisco State University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, said sons Park Allen and Link Allen, both of Tiburon.

Allen moved to Marin not long after graduating and began his career as a teacher in Vallejo about 1959 before joining the Reed Union School District about 1964. He retired about 1990, after Link Allen finished at Del Mar, Link said.

About the same time, he started teaching at Reed Union schools, Allen moved to Belvedere. He lived primarily on Bella Vista Avenue and later on the Belvedere Lagoon. He left Belvedere about 2010 following his divorce and lived in San Rafael before settling in Kentfield, where he remained until his death.

Park Allen said his father loved connecting with others and helping others learn, something that was evident in memories and comments shared by members of the Tiburon Native and Del Mar Middle School alumni Facebook groups.

“Mr. Allen and his big, welcoming smile was the most upbeat and positive teacher and person,” Patsy Gehlen said in a Facebook comment. “He always made you feel special and cared for. He helped, he laughed, he made learning an adventure.”

Del Mar colleague Richard Hurley met Allen when Hurley was a student teacher and called Allen a mentor who showed him his teaching style, one Hurley said was focused on preparation.

“He was a sharp guy,” Hurley said. “I mean, he was quick-witted. He had a tremendous personality that showed up in his teaching. And as a student teacher, it told me how much you can let your personality show as you’re teaching a lesson.”

San Rafael resident Lisa Oei, who was Allen’s student at Del Mar, said she remembers her former teacher as “always smiling,” with a friendly and encouraging personality.

“I think he has the special ability to see people wherever they’re at in their journey in life and make them feel comfortable and being able to present with someone, understand what their special interests were and approach them on those topics,” Oei said.

Even as a volunteer docent at the Marin Civic Center, Allen would assign guests “homework,” challenging them at the end of tours to come up with one interesting fact they learned, Brown said. Without fail, Allen would receive a classroom’s worth of responses in the mail not long after.

“He didn’t want to quit teaching — he was always a teacher,” Link Allen said. “He was such a sweet giver of knowledge, and I think that he’s drawn to the kids because … they sponge it up.”

Darznik, the author, said Allen’s influence resonated with her so much that she kept in touch with him into her adulthood. She’s now a creative-writing professor at the California College of Arts in San Francisco.

Allen continued to support Darznik, providing friendly words of encouragement to keep writing. Darznik, who is set to release a novel about actor Rita Hayworth in 2026 called “American Goddess,” said Allen was excited to find out about that project and would ask about the book’s release.

“You don’t forget teachers like Mr. Allen — you just don’t,” Darznik said. “And when you achieve something, to me, it always feels like this is absolutely also their success. What he gave me, what other teachers have given, becomes part of you.”

Allen’s other hobbies included participating in an adult softball league that morphed into a bocce-playing group later in life.

Sonoma resident Ron Zink, who had known Allen since 1974, said Allen “was a natural athlete” who played second base and was known as a contact hitter who was patient in the batter’s box.

Zink also called Allen “a faithful friend.”

“He was a very optimistic person in the way he lived his life,” Zink said. “He had a great sense of humor, and I enjoyed seeing him any time that I was with him.”

Allen was a lifelong learner, said Brown, who had been with Allen since 2010. The two would listen to National Public Radio on their drives around Marin, she said, and Allen would often purchase the book being discussed on the radio before the couple arrived at their destination. It was also common for Allen to want to remain in the car to finish listening to a report even after the couple had arrived, Brown said.

Allen enjoyed surprising others with “spontaneous acts of kindness,” Brown said.

In one instance, Brown recalled, what was supposed to be a 10-minute round-trip drive for coffee turned into an hourlong endeavor of Allen handing out coffee to road workers who were busy on Christmas.

“He would just surprise somebody with something that would be important to them, and there’d be no particular occasion or reason,” Brown said.

Oei said she had the chance to continue “the chain of kindness (Allen) had started years ago in his classroom” when Allen called her after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease to inquire about taking classes through PD-Connect, the nonprofit Oei founded and runs that provides education and exercise programs for people with Parkinson’s.

Allen showcased joy and happiness in those classes, Oei said. She added that she never felt she was giving back, but rather “being part of this joy together,” especially in making every effort possible to participate in in-person events.

“That is just so telling of the kind, giving, generous man who really wants to connect to the community and show that everyone can benefit from just being together,” Oei said.

Park Allen said his father was always open-minded, with a desire to be around others and to “get people to be themselves, to share and just to be human with one another.”

“In a world today where it’s almost like people are backing away from such sensitivity, he really leaned in,” Park Allen said.

Allen is survived by life partner Joan Brown; sons Park, Link and Sean; Brown’s son, Kevin; grandchildren Makenzie, Delaney, Augustine and Archie; and brothers Ron, Chip and Tom and their extended families.

A public celebration of life is scheduled for 2 p.m. Jan. 31 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon.

Donations in Allen’s name can be made to PD-Connect at pd-connect.org, to the San Rafael-based Canal Alliance at canalalliance.org or to the charity of one’s choosing.

Reach Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634.