Dr. Jesse Lee Allen departed this life on July 15,2018. He was one of seven children born on March 6, 1931 to the late Aaron Butler Allen and Lottie Cora Trice Allen. A native of Durham,North Carolina he was educated in its public schools. He graduated from Hillside High School in Durham ,North Carolina in 1949 and North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) in Durham in 1953.

After a stint in the United Sates army, he began his teaching career in Waverly,Virginia. After marrying his college sweetheart, Constance Violet Glenn in the summer of 1957, he became a teacher at his alma mater, Hillside High School in the fall of 1957. Dr. Allen taught business education at his alma mater Hillside High School from 1957-65. He entered graduate school in the summer of 1965 and was the first African-American to receive a master's degree in education from Duke University. Subsequently, he became the second African-American to receive a doctorate degree from Duke University in 1969.

After completing his course work at Duke during the summer of 1968, he joined the faculty at the University of Miami as an Assistant Professor of Education. In 1969,he was hired by Norfolk Public Schools as the school system's first African-American Assistant Superintendent. He retired in 1986 and went on to work as a life insurance agent for New York Life. He retired in 1993 due to various health issues.

His list of accomplishments include selection to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, president of the Tidewater Association of Black School Educators, 1978 Educator of the year, National Association of Black School Educators, the Chesapeake Mayor's Outstanding service award and the 2003 recipient of the Chesapeake Pioneer's Award. He was a member of the International Toastmaster's Club and a member of Omega Psi Pi Fraternity.

Dr. Jesse L. Allen and Constance Allen were co-plaintiffs in a landmark federal housing discrimination case. The couple successfully sued the developer of Georgetown Colony under the Fair Housing Discrimination Act and were the first black family to live in Georgetown Colony, a suburban neighborhood in Chesapeake Virginia.

He leaves to mourn his memory his son David Glenn Allen, his daughter Jennifer Lauren Allen, sister Clara M. Allen and a host of nieces cousins and friends.

Dr Allen confessed his faith in Christ as a young boy when he attended Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Durham,NC. He became a communicant at Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk in 1970. He was a dynamic man with a commanding presence and he will be sorely missed.