Victoria Farrar-Myers saw a friend and colleague in Allan Saxe who wanted his life and the conversations he facilitated to matter.
鈥淭o me, he was someone who lived his life out loud,鈥� said the former Arlington City Council member and University of Texas at Arlington political science professor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like he lived his values the way he lived, right? He valued other people, he valued wanting to be the one person to make a difference. And he did that in everything he put his hands on.鈥�
Saxe died June 18 at 85, concluding his lifelong pursuit of philanthropy and community investment. That pursuit, which includes an estimated $1.5-2.5 million in donations and a 54-year-long tenure teaching political science at UT-Arlington, has led to many of Arlington鈥檚 most influential leaders citing Saxe as their own inspiration.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a person in Arlington that didn鈥檛 feel Allan Saxe鈥檚 reach,鈥� said Arlington philanthropist Dan Dipert, a lifelong friend of Saxe.
When Dipert recalls his first meeting with Allan Saxe 鈥� they met for breakfast at a Denny鈥檚 in the 1960s 鈥� two things stand out in his memory: Saxe鈥檚 voluptuous afro and an instant connection. As the two friends matured, Saxe grew to be a leader to everyone around him, Dipert said.
鈥淗e was always different; he just had a different mindset,鈥� Dipert said. 鈥淗e saw the world differently than any of us did.鈥�
Saxe had a reputation for giving away every dollar he earned 鈥� including the entire $500,000 inheritance he received from his mother in the 1990s, according to The Dallas Morning News.
He was the benefactor to nearly every charity and community service organization in the city, former Mayor Richard Greene said. Saxe also was a founder of the Arlington Life Shelter, a nonprofit organization helping homeless individuals find self-sustainability.
鈥淗e was a special, special, special kind of person,鈥� said Rebecca Deen, senior associate dean of UT-Arlington鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts. 鈥淭here will never be another one like him.鈥�
Deen met Saxe during her job interviews with the university in 1997. When she landed the job, Saxe was one of the first people to walk into her office and introduce himself, acting as if he鈥檇 never met her before.
鈥淭hat was Allan 鈥� very humble,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hy would he assume anybody would remember him? That was his approach to the world.鈥�
But all of Arlington remembers Saxe, and it will continue to for decades.
Whether they know it or not, athletes will feel his impact as they run the bases of Allan Saxe Field. Students will feel it when they read books from the Allan Saxe Little Free Library stands scattered across UT-Arlington. Children will feel it as they play tag in southwest Arlington鈥檚 Allan Saxe Park.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just one of those guys that you feel like no matter where you go in Arlington, he鈥檚 had his fingerprint on everything,鈥� said Mayor Jim Ross.
His also name adorns numerous scholarships, meeting spaces, pencil sharpeners at UTA and 鈥� because Saxe never took himself too seriously 鈥� the road that leads to Arlington鈥檚 landfill.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize when they see a name on a stadium, or a name on a room in a library, or a name on a patch of grass that鈥檚 got wildflowers going on it, they don鈥檛 realize who Allan Saxe is,鈥� said Geraldine Mills, executive director of . 鈥淭hey just see that name and they think, 鈥榃ell, that was nice of him,鈥� but they don鈥檛 know who he was.鈥�
Part of that is what Saxe wanted. Despite what his citywide presence might suggest, Saxe never expected much fanfare for what he did, said Gary Hardee, a former Arlington Star-Telegram editor who worked in many of the same circles as Saxe.
The fanfare just came naturally because Saxe did so much, Hardee said.
Every community dreams of having their own person like Saxe, Hardee said. Saxe not only poured his finances into seeing Arlington grow, but he did so with wisdom and thoughtfulness 鈥� two values his political science background underscored.
鈥淗e was always balancing competing interests in the city with what was best for the overall good of the community,鈥� Hardee said. 鈥淚 never, ever got a sense from him that he was acting some way in what鈥檚 good for Allan Saxe, more that he acted out of what鈥檚 good for the community.鈥�
Nikkie Hunter has vivid memories of Saxe鈥檚 classes. The conversations lively, Saxe鈥檚 quips quirky and the classes packed.
鈥淎s a matter of fact, that was one of the biggest classes I had ever been in,鈥� Hunter, now an Arlington City Council member, recalled. 鈥淚t was huge. I mean, everybody wanted to be in that class.鈥�
Deen eventually inherited the responsibilities of creating every semester鈥檚 political science class schedule. She quickly learned she had to work around what she called the 鈥淎llan Effect.鈥�
Any other professor鈥檚 class scheduled at the same time as Saxe鈥檚 would struggle to find students. He would often attract long waitlists of students wanting to be a part of the lively discussions and 鈥済enuine authenticity鈥� his teaching was known for, Deen said.
The Allan Effect especially complicated things given that, every year, Saxe would persist in teaching as many classes as possible.
鈥溾�業 need to work some extra classes so that I can stay on top of my giving,鈥� he would tell Deen, she said, recalling their conversations. 鈥淟iterally, he was teaching extra so he could give it away.鈥�
Saxe taught until he physically couldn鈥檛, finally ending his tenure 鈥� unwillingly, Deen said 鈥� at 80 after falling ill. When Deen took over his classes to close out the semester, she got to see firsthand what Saxe meant to his students.
鈥淚 would not have expected any different. He taught until he absolutely could not do it,鈥� she said.
When UTA鈥檚 magazine staff asked alumni to submit entries of Allan Saxe memories, hundreds of Saxe鈥檚 former students responded, university President Jennifer Cowley said in a statement on social media.
鈥淔or nearly six decades, Allan Saxe has been a Maverick institution 鈥� one of our best known and most beloved professors,鈥� Cowley said. 鈥淗e was engaging, smart, funny and opinionated, and his classes were considered can鈥檛 miss by generations of UT-Arlington students.鈥�
Cowley鈥檚 statement, posted Wednesday morning on the , has received comments from generations of students. Many echo the same feelings of admiration and love for Saxe鈥檚 teaching, acting as testimonies to his influence.
That influence also lives on in current and former council members for the political science professor and one-time Arlington City Council candidate.
Farrar-Myers said Saxe gave her lessons on all things Arlington between classes. He was the first person Farrar-Myers about her run for City Council 鈥� to which he responded, 鈥渁bout dang time.鈥�
鈥淗e was just like, 鈥業 lost by this number of votes in my runoff. Just win by that amount, OK? Promise me that,鈥欌�� Farrar-Myers said. 鈥淗e was always extremely supportive.鈥�
Saxe took pride in his book, 鈥淧olitics of Arlington, Texas: An Era of Community and Growth,鈥� using it to write a detailed account of the city鈥檚 history.
鈥淚n the pantheon of Arlington, that book about Arlington politics is really one of the stalwarts that I think of when you think of the 鈥榥eed-to-know鈥� for anyone who wants to really know about Arlington,鈥� she said.
Hunter said she carries with her Saxe鈥檚 lessons about giving back to the community in her City Council position.
鈥淚 think continuing to love this city and continuing to give back. That鈥檚 the best way to remember him because that鈥檚 what he was about,鈥� Hunter said.
Saxe started donating his money after he contracted polio as a child, he told a crowd in 2013 at a . Around the same time as his childhood hospitalization, he made his first donation 鈥� $100 to a hospital in Oklahoma City.
鈥淚 have the great privilege of teaching, but I can鈥檛 build anything, I can鈥檛 construct anything, I can鈥檛 go to the moon, I can鈥檛 do those things. My brain isn鈥檛 wired that way, so I try to give money away to people that can do those things,鈥� he said during the event.
Having money around made Saxe uneasy, so Greene, the former mayor, recommended Saxe invest the money in order for it to grow.
鈥淗e said, 鈥榃ell, that鈥檚 fine, except for the fact that it鈥檒l take a long time, and I can鈥檛 sleep at night with this money in my bank account. I have got to start moving it into the community,鈥欌�� Greene recalled.
Dipert, Saxe鈥檚 contemporary Arlington philanthropist, would have to tell his friend to 鈥渉old back鈥� before he gave too much away, he said.
Saxe always saw the wholeness of humanity, Dipert said, and he never hesitated to love others. After over 50 years of friendship, the two would still always call each other on holidays.
鈥淎ll of us on holidays think of people that we love, that mean something to us,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ove is the undermining story of his life.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org. You can follow Kailey on Twitter .
Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
