Al Allston died last April from leukemia, 24 years after he was told he had less than a year to live. But he had other ideas and went on to not only live more than two decades but also enjoy everything life had to offer.
After graduating from Yale he got his J.D. from Duke and embarked on a career of fighting for civil rights, community development and economic empowerment. He was assistant director of the South Carolina Council on Human Relations, playing an integral role in fostering better living and social conditions for African Americans and promoting racial harmony in the state. As director of the Foundation for Community Development in North Carolina, he led efforts to enhance infrastructure, housing, economic development and the distribution of wealth in the African-American community.
While living in Durham, Al met the love of his life, Lynette Lewis. “We just clicked,” she says. They married less than a year later and moved to Columbia, SC, where Al began practicing law as a trial attorney specializing in products liability. He became a partner at one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ litigation firms, Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole.
When he got his leukemia diagnosis in 2000 he decided to retire from the law, which he dearly loved, and focus on the only thing he loved more, his family. He and Lynette moved to her hometown in Drewryville, VA and lived on the family farm originally owned by her grandparents. Trading in his well-tailored suits for ostrich boots, he embraced the slower pace, loving the serenity of rural life and enjoying pushing dirt around on one of his favorite toys, his John Deere tractor.
He also assumed his new position as assistant and on-call driver for Lynette as she traversed the state in her capacity as Chief of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia. Al became an associate member of the tribe and served as its corporate counsel.
He stayed connected with his friends and former colleagues through his avid use of Facebook, providing unfiltered political and social commentary – he was never one to hold back his opinions – and expressing his passion for history and his love for his family.
He enjoyed music, especially jazz and blues, and never passed up an opportunity to dance with Lynette. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and took pride in watching them grow. He will be remembered for many things; but above all, it is his enduring love and dedication to his family that will be cherished the most.