Longtime Berryville teacher always ‘chose joy’

By Scott Loftis

SLoftis@cherryroad.com

“Choose joy. Be the light.”

Those are the words that Larissa Allen lived by, and they are the words by which she’ll be remembered by countless people in the Berryville community whose lives she touched.

Larissa Allen

Allen, who taught in the Berryville School District for 20 years, died Sept. 23 after a courageous battle with breast cancer. She was 55.

Allen was a longtime member of the Green Forest Church of Christ. Born to the late R.L. and Agnes Pauline Utley in Kennett, Mo., on Aug. 3, 1967, she graduated from Rector High School in 1985, then earned her bachelor’s degree in business-personnel management from the University of Arkansas in 1989. She went on to obtain her master’s degree in Education, and later her certification in gifted and talented education.

She is survived by her husband of 24 years, Chad Allen, as well as her three sons — Drew Howerton, Ty Allen and Nate Allen. Other survivors include her sister Meleia Lewis, her mother-in-law Sara Allen, brother-in-law Kevin Allen (Marketa), sister-in-law Jada Denbow (Mike), sister-in-law Andrea Jones (Mike) as well as other special family members and dear friends, and her beloved dogs — Brodie, Nash and Tucker.

There isn’t enough space in this newspaper, however, to list the names of everyone whose lives she impacted in a positive way.

Allen started her career as a second-grade teacher at Berryville Elementary School in 2002. Ten years later, she had the opportunity to become the school district’s K-12 gifted and talented coordinator, a position she held through the 2021-2022 school year.

“She was just outstanding,” said Berryville School District Superintendent Owen Powell. “She was a fantastic teacher. She loved the kids. The kids loved her. And everybody that she worked with loved her. She was just a great person and a fantastic teacher.”

Allen’s funeral service on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Church on the Hill in Berryville drew hundreds of people wishing to pay their final respects.

“I don’t know how many people were there, the church was packed,” Powell said. “That just shows how many lives that she impacted, there’s no telling. She made a positive impact on just many lives of kids in Berryville schools.”

Chad Allen said his wife never stopped thinking of others. It was that selfless attitude that led her — in the middle of her own battle with cancer — to start a charity for other cancer patients. Chad Allen said the family will make sure that ChemHoHo Hope continues.

“Her charity is pretty pretty special,” Chad Allen said. “It’s unique and it’s different. There’s a lot of other great cancer charities out there, and I don’t want to take away from those, but hers is special because she was a part of it. What she does with her charity is provide gifts for people in the transfusion rooms. We go during December and pass out gifts to people in those transfusion rooms, which are not always the loveliest places to hang out. There’s a bunch of people in there fighting that same battle. And it’s not doom and gloom by any means, but it’s certainly subdued. And she just wanted to combine her unique abilities for shopping with her unique ability to put smiles on people’s faces. And that’s what her charity does, because when we give those gifts out to them, they do smile. And it touches your heart and their heart. And it is the way we keep her legacy going.”

The Berryville High School volleyball team honored Larissa Allen at its annual Pink Out game to support breast cancer victimes and survivors Thursday, Sept. 29 — an event that was planned before she died. Chad Allen spoke at the game and more than $2,000 was donated to ChemHoHoHope.

Chad Allen said Chem-HoHoHope exemplifies his wife’s giving spirit and her courage.

“That was really the epitome of who she was,” Chad Allen said. “And she did choose joy every day. That was really her motto. And, you know, it wasn’t always pleasant. She had to put on her pretty face sometimes but she always did. And it’s something that I will always and forever respect and admire.”