Richard Allen

Richard W. Allen, 53, a former resident, died Thursday in Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Fla.  He lived at 585 Forest Parkway, Largo, Fla.  He had been a patient there since Feb. 10 following a shooting incident at Pinellas Park High School, where he was assistant principal.

Born in Lafayette, April 7, 1934, he was a 1951 graduate of West Lafayette High School.  He received his bachelor of science degree in physical education and speech from Purdue University in 1955, and his master’s degree in physical education and English from Purdue in 1962.

His father, the late Homer Allen, was athletic director and an instructor at Purdue University.

Mr. Allen taught English, speech, and biology, directed plays and coached football and basketball.  From 1957 to 1959 he taught at Washington Township High School in Cass County.  He moved to Brookston in 1960 and taught at Frontier High School thee until 1969 when he moved to Largo.

After moving to Largo in August, 1969, he taught English and drivers education and coached basketball at Largo High School   He received his administration certificate and was promioted to dean of students in 1972.

He had been assistant principal at Pinellas Park High School since 1986.

Mr. Allen was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and had recently received his tenure pin from Phi Beta Kappa.  He also was a member of the Purdue Alumni Association; Pinellas County Assistant Principals Association; Suncoast Singers Association; American Association of Retired Persons; and a former member of Clearwater Auxiliary Police.

A blood donor at the Hunter Blood Bank in Florida, he had donated over five gallons of blood.

Surviving are two sons, Thomas R. Allen of Seminole, Fla. And Lt. J.S. Allen of Williams Air Force Base, Phoenix, Ariz; a daughter Lori Allen Clark of Odessa, Fla; and one brother, John Thomas Allen of Lafayette. 

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 Sad day to pass unnoted at school

But the 1988 shooting rampage will be long remembered by those at Pinellas Park High.

By Donna Winchester, Times Staff Writer
Published February 11, 2008

It's been 20 years since the sound of gunfire silenced lunchroom chatter and sent shock waves through Pinellas Park High School.

Just before noon on Feb. 11, 1988, a 15-year-old student armed with a stolen .38-caliber revolver opened fire in the cafeteria. Jason Harless shot two assistant principals and a student teacher, then turned the gun on police officers as he ran from the school.

The officers returned fire, wounding him in the shoulder. They arrested him along with another 15-year-old, Jason McCoy, who also had come to school that morning with a gun.

One of the administrators, 53-year-old Richard Allen, died six days later of a gunshot wound to the head.

The intervening years have not erased the emotional pain suffered by the handful of teachers who still work at the school, first-year principal John Johnston said Friday. And so they have opted to forgo any type of ceremony to mark the tragedy.

"It was a very emotional time for them," Johnston said. "They would prefer to have it go forward as a regular day."

McCoy was released from jail after serving 14 months of a six-year sentence. Harless was released in 1996 after serving eight years of a 17-year sentence.