by Joel Gebet
07/29/2005
John Allan, assistant office manager at Crews & Garcia Inc. in Tampa, FL, and owner of All Seasons Nursery in Seffner, FL, died July 21 after a 10-year battle with cancer. He was 57 years old.
Mr. Allan got his start in the produce industry in 1973 at Ruskin Packaging Inc. in Ruskin, FL, where he managed the packinghouse, said Ernest (Cookie) Garcia, president of Crews & Garcia. By 1989, Mr. Allan was running operations at Crews & Garcia, but left the company to start his own business, All Seasons Nursery.
Though he still owned All Seasons Nursery, Mr. Allan returned to Crews & Garcia in 1999. Little by little, he worked his way up to assistant manager of Crews & Garcia's office, where he coordinated work between the company's office and salespeople. Even though he was ill, Mr. Allan never stopped working and stayed with the company through July 16, Mr. Garcia said.
"John was a company man 100 percent, and he'll be hard to replace," Mr. Garcia said. He would stay late in the afternoons just in case a truck came in late or there was a late order. John was also a jack-of-all-trades and besides finding better ways of doing things in our office, he would often be working on our trucks."
Liz Allan, Mr. Allan's wife of 20 years, said that she would always remember her husband's love for the outdoors and nature. John loved plants and gardening and could identify almost any kind of plant just by looking at a leaf," Mrs. Allan said. He had a garden at our home where he grew organic vegetables. He ate organic and believed in supporting small businesses that sold them."
Mr. Allan loved all animals, especially their three dogs, Daisy, Dodger and Dooby, she said. She recalled an incident several years ago when he found two large rattlesnakes at his nursery. John wouldn't hurt a fly and he couldn't bring himself to kill the rattlesnakes, so he trapped them and gave them to the wildlife people," she said.
Mrs. Allan said that her husband loved to exercise and ride his bicycle and would go out on 50-mile rides almost every Saturday. He was a member of a local bicycle club named the Swamp Club, and if he wasn't riding, he would be out helping to clean trails so that other riders could enjoy them," she said.
He was also an avid golfer who would try to play or go to the driving range to practice at least once a week. In addition to his wife, Mr. Allan is survived by his mother, Gertrude Allan; a brother, William Whiting Allan Jr.; three sisters, Louise Holland, Carol Hargadin and Jeannie Stevenson; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be given in Mr. Allan's name to the Christ Community Church, 6202 North Himes Ave., Tampa, FL 33614.
