BEAUMONT, Texas — Family, friends and Southeast Texas leaders gathered at Temple Emanuel to say their final goodbyes to Allison Nathan Getz on Sunday.
Allison lost her battle with cancer on October 10, 2023.
She announced in early 2022 that she was battling cancer and said she was planning to get better and keep serving the community.
"I am so thankful to the hundreds of people that have reached out to offer their prayers and support. I am home recuperating and plan to work as hard as I can to get better and to continue to serve the community that I love," she said in a February 2022 statement after having surgery.
The Beaumont native was widely known and a respected pillar of the community. She served as the Jefferson County Tax Accessor-Collector since 2014.
She was also involved in multiple organizations across Southeast Texas.
Sunday's service showed how big of impact Allison made to the community she loved so much.
Those who knew Allison the best says no matter who you were, she always met you with a smile and two questions: 'How can I help you?' and 'what do you need?'"
That's the kind of person she was.
"My heart is broken and even though I expected this day would come, when she was diagnosed, it's difficult to imagine a world without Allison," said her husband, Councilman Mike Getz at the service.
The day was full of kind words and remembrance, through tears and laughter.
"She made endless amounts of chicken strips and and French fries, and carted us around to NSYNC and Backstreet Boys concerts," said her daughter, Anne Elizabeth Golias Reynolds.
They reflected on moments that they will always be able to carry with them.
"We got up at 5 to watch the sun rise and we saw God paint this canyon in vivid colors, that would change almost by seconds. And those were moments I will treasure and remember forever. It was just us and God together," said her father, Jerry Nathan.
Leaders of Southeast Texas like Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick remembered the years he's worked with Allison.
"I was always amazed by not just her intellect, her common sense, but her strong work ethic. But probably most of all the fact that she loved everybody," he said.
Beaumont's Mayor Roy West also attended the service to show respect for the woman who dedicated her life to the Jefferson County community.
"She always was who she was at the end. A giving person that loved this community, that was a leader, and this goes back to our junior high and high school days," Mayor West said.
Whether it was offering meals at Some Other Place, caring for her beloved Temple Emanuel, laying the foundation for the Beaumont Children's Museum, or protecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic, Getz showed who she was everyday.
Her beloved husband vowed to carry on his wife's legacy.
"Without her here, we're all going to have to work a little bit harder. Allison I love you now and and forever," he said.
Allison will be remembered for her dedication to this community. From her support of the arts to her work with various non-profits.
Getz was a fifth-generation Beaumont resident and leaves behind her husband, her children, and grandchildren.
Getz was very involved in several non-profit organizations including the Children’s Museum, Symphony of Southeast Texas, Southeast Texas Tennis Association, Junior League of Beaumont, Fire Museum of Texas and the Jefferson County Texas Exes. She was a graduate of the University of Texas.