http://www.broussardsmortuary.com/se...d=3772&locid=#
It looks as if he made his home in east Texas during his sunset years.
Allan Oggs's passing is another sign a generation is passing. He was another "second generation" UPC preacher whose primes were in the late sixties to late eighties. Oggs was a huge part of what was then a wonderfully diverse organization.
He had a rough and ready sense of humor that many strait-laced folks did not understand.
He quipped in his autobiography that when Donald Deck, then General Youth President, hired him for a position at headquarters, that Deck said that day he saw a sign that said "hire the handicapped."
He'd tell T. W. Barnes: "Now, don't you heal me and ruin my ministry."
Another reason I feel quite old: his death is not making a huge impact in the UPC.
That of course is only natural. Many younger pentecostals do not recognize the name. I'm sure the younger folks in New Life Tabernacle in Beaumont knew him only as an elderly preacher.
Let's not forget that throughout the seventies and eighties he was one of the giants of oneness pentecostal preachers. This was during a time when it was a lot harder to reach that status than it it today.
Allan Oggs was a regular major campmeeting and general conference speaker during a time when it wasn't just the same two or three paraded around over and over again for "ratings."
I pay him tribute mostly for being frank and real.
His autobiography was too hot for the Pentecostal Publishing House to handle because he dealt with certain issues in a frank manner that did not fit PPH's philosophy (still alive and well in 2007) that everything is always GREAT!FANTASTIC!WONDERFUL!PERFECT!!
Oggs dealt plainly in his book about a conflict with S. G. Norris.
He did not soft-soak his leaving JCM but plainly stated "I lost my job." It was obvious he was terminated against his will.
I never knew exactly what transpired between him and Craft but the breakup was interesting since Oggs was the alumnus coming back to be the "savior" after the "nasty liberals" led by Don Fisher were given the heave-ho.
As a younger preacher, I also appreciated his humanness and realness by saying a landmark in his ministry when he went to headquarters was when he could by his first Hart Shaffner and Marx suits.
That was refreshing in contrast to the many preachers in oneness pentecost who could not live without the trappings of the fancy suits, fancy restaurants and fancy cars but of course try to leave the impression that they don't have a hole or a nest like the foxes and birds in which to lay their head.
His death also made me think how heartbroken he must have been for his beloved New Orleans after Katrina. His love for his hometown bled through his writings.
I'd highly recommend reading his autobiography for those that haven't, if it is still in print.
My condolences to his family.
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