Susan Lutz Allred, 70, of Chapel Hill, N.C., passed away in the presence of family at Croasdaile Retirement Village, Durham, NC, on Dec. 10, 2008. Susan was born in Shelby, N.C., on June 14, 1938, to the late John Franklin and the late Nancy Coble Lutz.
Susan’s life was committed to the Christian community. From her youth she was deeply involved in the church. Her love of God, Church, and ministry shaped her life’s path. She attended Greensboro College, majoring in Religion and Philosophy. After college she worked in many different positions always connected to the church. In 1964, she married Herb Allred of Mt. Airy, N.C., a school teacher, whom she met in Winston-Salem, NC. They settled in Chapel Hill and together they raised two sons. She formally returned to her religious calling in 1980 when she enrolled in the Masters of Divinity program at Duke Divinity School. She was ordained a minister in 1983. She was a chaplain at the Department of Pastoral Care at UNC Hospitals. She also led the congregations of Saxapahaw United Methodist Church (Saxapahaw, N.C.) and Aldersgate United Methodist Church (Chapel Hill, N.C.). Her greatest joys and legacy were in building the Christian community at those churches and in all the friendships that grew from that work. As one of her parishioners put it best, “She treats us all as if we’re better than we are, and so ’ve become better than we would have been.â€
Susan was preceded in death by her husband, Hiram Herbert “Herb†Allred, Jr. She is survived by her two son’s families, Benjamin Hartley, Jennifer Laughrun (spouse), Hartley Lucille, and Callie Leigh Allred, of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Jason Anthony Allred, Christine Holmberg (spouse), Caroline Jaye, and Adrianne Emily Allred of California, Md. She is also survived by her two sisters, Ann Lutz Harry of Shelby, N.C.; Gennie Lutz Carpenter and her spouse, David Carpenter, of Boiling Springs, N.C.; and her brother, John Lutz Jr. and his spouse, Kathy Lutz, of North Charleston, S.C.; her sister-in-law, Doris Allred and her partner Katie Winship of Belfast, Maine.
A Memorial Service will be held on Jan. 3, 2009, at 11 a.m. at the Duke Chapel in Durham, N.C. Following the service, her ashes will be interred in the Memorial Garden at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Susan was a leader in encouraging and mentoring women into ministry. In lieu of flowers, gifts will be accepted to support this passion, Women in Ministry and Women in Missionary Work. Donations can be made to: Duke Divinity School, Box 90966, Durham, N.C., 27708-0966 or via credit card at 919-660-3456. Please indicate donation in her honor by writing “Note: Rev. Susan Allred†in the memo.
Arrangements by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas. Online condolences @ www.cremnc.com.