OGDEN — By all accounts, Gordon Allred lived a prolific life.

He had a Ph.D. in creative writing and contemporary American literature, and wrote and was published often. He was a mixed martial artist who boxed, wrestled and held a black belt in karate. He hunted ducks, regularly lifted weights, swam laps and ran in the Ogden foothills.

He was an English professor at Weber State University for 48 years and, with his wife Sharon Richards Wallace, he raised 11 children.

Despite cramming all that activity into an already busy schedule as a professor, those who knew him say the doors to his office, and his home, were always open. 

Allred died July 8. He was 85.  

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His daughter, Shannon Cox said he had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had broken a leg, but had died of natural causes.

“He always said he planned to live to be 100,” she said. “But it almost seemed like he gave everything to his family and to his work during his life that his body finally kind of said, ‘that’s enough.’ ”  

Allred taught at WSU until he was 81. Cox said he called it “his life’s work.”

“He absolutely loved teaching,” Cox said. “He always encouraged us to find a passion, find our life’s work and not just a job.”

Allison Hess, WSU’s Public Relations director, and Robin Scott, secretary at WSU’s English Language and Literature department, both described Allred as “beloved” by Wildcat students.

“There were a lot of students that fought to be in his classes,” Scott said. “He was always personable and happy. Very approachable. He would always say he was going to teach until all of his grand kids finished college.”

Allred had 63 grandchildren. 

Cox took English classes from her father and said she witnessed firsthand the devoted and intimate teaching style students came to love.

“Most of us kids, actually I think probably all of us, were able to take classes from him,” Cox said. “He would weave life lessons into everything he taught. I’ll always remember his red pen and his distinctive handwriting that he used to mark up papers. He wrote all over those papers, trying to give students ideas he thought would be helpful.”

Cox said several students, including her sister Kathy and her brother Tony, met their spouses in Allred’s class.

On the professor review and rating website, ratemyprofessors.com, Allred received high praise.

One reviewer says, “This man is the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Professors.” Another calls him “the best English teacher I’ve ever had.”

Allred’s colleagues offer similar sentiments, but are prone to talk about him in the personal sense rather than professional.

“Gordon is an institution,” said WSU English professor Mike Vause, who was also a student in Allred’s creative writing class. “He had a bunch of different interests, but I think the thing he cared about most was being a good human being.”

WSU English professor Michael Wutz called Allred “the most gentle of human beings — and as such, the most gentle of teachers and colleagues.”

“He had a kind word for everybody and was most generous with his time and knowledge,” Wutz said, adding that generosity and wisdom were the hallmark of his character. 

In 2011, during his final year at WSU, Allred was awarded with the Alumni Association’s H. Aldous Dixon Award that, according to the award citation, is given to professors that “have demonstrated careers of excellence and have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support students.”

Allred started teaching at WSU in 1963, after four years writing with the U.S. Forest Service. In the award citation, he’s quoted as saying, “I’ve always come to Weber with a sense of hope, expectation and excitement.”

Cox said Allred could often be found grading papers in his home office, but whenever one of his children approached, he’d drop the papers.

“He always had the door open,” she said. “I remember going into his office and climbing into his lap. He had a way of making you feel like you were the most important thing in the world.”

The altruism extended beyond his family.

In the 1980s, he and Sharon took in refugees from Southeast Asia for months at a time. They sheltered a Cambodian family of 13 for several months, then took in a Laotian family of nine soon after. Allred’s obituary, which was written by his son, Weber County Attorney Chris Allred, said the couple also took in the friends of his children, “who stayed for weeks or even months at a time.”

Allred published a book, “My Home Runneth Over,” about his full house experiences. 

Cox said aside from a few indulgences like potato chips and root beer, Allred took immaculate care of his body. She said that it was tied to his “deeply spiritual side” and his belief that a person should always be progressing. 

“He was constantly thinking about getting better,” Cox said. “Memorizing poetry, learning new languages. He was devoted to always improving himself. I think he did that until the day he died.”

You can reach reporter Mitch Shaw at mishaw@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @mitchshaw23 or like him on Facebook.