DEXTER, Mo. -- A local businessman whose name has been a household word for many years across Southeast Missouri died Saturday at his Dexter home at the age of 89.
Allen Christian established his first automobile sales operation nearly six decades ago under the name of Taylor and Christian Auto Sales. After 20 years, he opened Allen Christian Buick-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-GMC in 1978. Along with his three sons, Christian developed the dealership on Business Highway 60 in Dexter to become one of the premier GMC dealerships in an area encompassing not only southeast Missouri, but southern Illinois, northeast Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee as well.
Christian came from a family of nine children, born in Acorn Ridge in rural Stoddard County in 1928. He served in the Korean War as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, returning home to establish the business that would be his namesake for a lifetime.
Allen Christian leaves his wife, Thelma, three sons, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services were held on Monday in Dexter. See a full obituary for Allen Christian on page 2A of today's DAR.