What Dr. Harry Allen did during his life would have made him the perfect person to console friends after his death.

Allen, who was a professor with the SIUC Rehabilitation Institute for more than 30 years, died of a heart attack on June 20. Though the 68-year-old had moved to Fresno, Calif., two years ago, members of the Carbondale community said his influence as a teacher and friend would remain for years to come.

‘He probably touched thousands and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives through the people that he taught to be open-hearted, good listeners, helpers,’ said Barb Elam, interim director of the SIUC Wellness Center and one of Allen’s former students. ‘He just had a life of service. He helped others; that’s all he did.’

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Allen specialized in work with people who had disabilities or life-threatening conditions, said his friend, psychologist Dr. Don Doty. He was also a consultant to the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Tiburon, Calif.

He is survived by his wife, Carol, two daughters and five grandchildren.

Doty said Allen was a compassionate listener who taught his students to be the same.

He remembered his friend as sensitive, warm and loving, with a voice that commanded attention.

‘(He) sounded like James Earl Jones or God or both,’ Doty said.

But it was Allen’s words, as much as his voice, that impressed his students. Roberta Piper, a Murphysboro resident who worked as Allen’s lab assistant, remembered training with Allen as intense and effective. Students responded well, she said.

‘He did a demonstration of how to help somebody, and somebody in the class said when he finished … ‘Well, for that one I’d give you a 10, except that’s reserved for God,” she said.

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Piper said Allen always took an interest in the people he was teaching, and those people often thought very well of him.

His influence extended outside the classroom, said Judy Carter, a friend of Allen’s who has lived in Carbondale for 35 years.

Carter said Allen’s involvement in local organizations and work with individuals in the region had upgraded the life of the community.

‘He was just always there. I think he probably helped more individuals within the community than anyone I can think of,’ she said.

Allen was an eloquent and powerful speaker whose friends jokingly called him ‘the voice of God,’ Carter said. She added that he would have been a perfect officiant for his own memorial service, which friends have planned for 1 p.m. July 11 at the Unitarian Church of Carbondale.

Elam said some of Allen’s talent for those types of ceremonies came from his experience as a minister.

She said he was always willing to help out as a therapist, a friend or the officiant of a wedding or funeral.

‘He was just the best,’ she said.’ ‘