Zelma Deije Allen (1902-1976)

Z.D. Allen, from the December 1976 Texas Bar Journal.

   We continue our stay in Texas for yet another profile on an oddly named Lone Star state attorney, one Z.D. Allen of Wichita County. With his name being abbreviated as "Z. D. Allen" by nearly every source I've found,  you can imagine how happy I was when I discovered that the "Z. D." in his name stood for "Zelma Deije", which sounds like it should belong to an old white-haired woman instead of an old white-haired man!

   Despite attaining the high office of District Attorney of Wichita County, Texas, little exists online in regards to Allen's career in the public forum. Born sometime in 1902 in Blum, Texas, Z.D. Allen attended and graduated from that town's high school, later moving to Wichita Falls, Texas with his family at age 18. He married in 1925 to Ollie Lee Creswell (1907-1974), with whom he had two children, Ronald Nelson (birth-date unknown) and Anetta (birth-date unknown).

  Admitted to the Texas bar in 1930, Allen was selected as assistant attorney of Wichita County in 1932 and served four years in that post. In 1939 he began a four-year stint as District Attorney of Wichita County and in the second year of his term was elected as chairman of the Wichita County bar meeting held in Wichita Falls. Two years after the conclusion of his term as district attorney Allen was elected as President of the Wichita County Bar Association, serving a one-year term.

  Z.D. Allen continued to practice law in Wichita Falls well into the early 1970s, even serving another stint as assistant district attorney from 1967 to 1974. In the latter year, he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, the home of his son Ronald. Allen died in Nashville on June 16, 1976, at age 74, his wife Ollie having died two years previously. A burial location for both Allen and his wife is unknown at this time.