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The last name is pronounced "ALL-GAR". Cyril was my uncle. He tried to keep my dad in line. I beleive that I get my passion for politics and my desire to serve through him. He taught me that you never kick a man when he is down, you offer to help him up, even if he is your enemy. He taught me to play fair and abide by the rules. He taught me that you never forget your friends and God help you if you ever forget you family.
He was such a great advocate for his community that they named a local community center after him while he was still alive. The obit does not mention the 25 plus years he spent working for the Union before he retired from GE.
I am a proud Democrat because of him. I've got to make arrangements to get home for the funeral. I hope the mods do not mind if I share with the folks at DU this obituary of a good life long Democrat. I think my Uncle Cyril sets a fine example for all Democrats to follow. So long Uncle Cyril...say hello to dad and granpa for me.
Cyril Allgeier, a long-serving Louisville elected official, died at his home in south central Louisville early Thursday after a long illness.
Allgeier, 74, who friends said had been battling complications of leukemia, was the 4th Ward representative on the old Louisville Board of Aldermen from 1981 through 2002. He was then elected as a member of the Louisville Metro Council from the 10th District, following the merger of city-county government starting in 2003.
The Democrat served a two-year council term before deciding to retire at the start of 2005. Allgeier, who retired from General Electric, was never a fan of the government merger.
But, “Cyril was a rock-solid advocate for his neighborhood and his city,” Mayor Jerry Abramson said Thursday. “Time and again, he earned the respect and trust of his constituents.”
Steve Magre served 23 years on the Board of Aldermen, 21 of them with Allgeier. Magre, who represented the 5th Ward, said there was only a handful of aldermen who served as long as Allgeier. After Allgeier’s first election in 1981 “we struck up an immediate friendship” that lasted, Magre said.
Magre described Allgeier as “a straight shooter…a moral compass. He saw things as right or wrong.” Allgeier was a hard door-to-door campaigner who invariably garnered two-thirds or more of the vote in elections, served his constituents exceptionally well, Magre said.
The two shared a love of baseball and Magre said Allgeier’s legacy will be his devotion to amateur baseball in Louisville — including improvements he sponsored at Derby City Field, coaching youth baseball and finding city funding for leagues. “Without Cyril Allgeier, there would be no topflight amateur baseball in Louisville,” Magre said.
Jim King, a Democrat who replaced Allgeier as 10th District Metro Councilman after he retired, said Allgeier was instrumental in getting King to enter politics. “I would not be where I am today without his support.”
Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9th District, served four years as an alderman and two years as a council member with Allgeier. She said she has fond memories of drinking beer and playing dart baseball at Camp Taylor Park with Allgeier, while all the time lobbying him to support the so-called “fairness ordinance,” which provided anti-discriminatory protections to gays and lesbians. He ended up voting for the measure. “I considered him a dear friend,” Ward-Pugh said of Allgeier.
Jeff Noble served as Allgeier’s legislative aide at the Board of Alderman and managed most of his political campaigns over the years.
Allgeier “was a surrogate father for a whole bunch of people who went to Holy Family and played baseball at Derby City,” Noble said. He said “there was never any question of impropriety” or never any question about his well-intentioned motives.
Allgeier was a friend of many non-profit agencies, delivering meals to the needy and rounding up frequent grant money for the Ministries United of Southcentral Louisville and other charities. And he sponsored projects for the Dream Factory, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Center for Accessible Living, the Special Olympics and numerous other non-profit organizations.
The Derby City Community Center near the Louisville Zoo was officially renamed the Cyril Allgeier Community Center in 2006.
Allgeier is survived by his wife, Mary, and five sons and one daughter.
Visitation will be Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 8 p.m. at Ratterman & Sons, 3800 Bardstown Road. Funeral will be 10 a.m. Monday at Holy Family Catholic Church, 3926 Poplar Level Road, with burial in St. Michael Cemetery.
Preferred memorials are to Holy Family Church or School, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
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