Brenda Louise Allen-Lorick, a retired educator and counselor who taught English at Morgan State University, died of heart failure on Dec. 9 at Northwest Hospital. She was 79 and lived on Auchentoroly Terrace.

Born in Baltimore and raised in West Baltimore on Riggs Avenue, she was the daughter of Henry Pettigrew Evans, a Bethlehem Steel worker, and his wife, Rosetta Dixon Evans.

She attended Pimlico Junior High School and was a 1963 graduate of Forest Park High School. She then earned a degree at Morgan State University. She received a master’s degree in education from Howard University in 1975.

She lived on Madison Avenue and taught in the Baltimore City Schools system before moving to New Mexico. She earned a second master’s degree from Saint John’s College in 1980 in Santa Fe and a doctorate at Texas A&M in 1990.

“Brenda had a great, bubbly personality,” said a lifelong friend, Milton A. Dugger Jr. “She was always encouraging people to do their best, whatever it was.”

“My mother lived in several states and enjoyed a long and varied career in education,” said her son, David Malcolm Allen. “She began as a substitute elementary school teacher and went on to become the head of college counseling departments.”

Her last teaching post was in the Morgan State English department.

Ms. Allen-Lorick was a seasoned traveler. Her family said her earliest passport reflected a trip to Jamaica in 1984. The last passport in her files was for a trip to Egypt in 2022. Along the way she visited Nigeria, Australia, Dubai, England, Thailand, Scotland, Vietnam, France, Ghana, Mexico and China.

“One of her favorite trips included a train excursion on the Orient Express,” said her son, David Malcolm Allen. “She was impressed by the service. She said that she got a pair of slippers and a hat out of the experience.”

She liked to try new activities. She became a quilter, did needlepoint, acted and collected art. After chaperoning a trip to Dubai with the Morgan State University Gospel Choir, she became interested in gospel music.

“My mother was an advocate, a mentor, and counselor, She assisted many people with their life goals and education,” her son said. “Those who knew her often referred to her as their cheerleader.”

She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and belonged to the social group called the Apron Strings.

Survivors include two sons, David Malcolm Allen of Baltimore and Marcus G. Lorick of New York City; and two grandchildren.

Services were held at the Gary P. March Funeral Home.