In congenital muscular torticollis, a trial of nonoperative treatment for 12-24 months is allowed before surgical intervention is pursued, because 90% of these patients respond to passive stretching within the first year of life.
Rex Allen died on December 17, 1999, two weeks before his 79th birthday, in Tucson, Arizona, after he sustained fatal injuries when his caregiver accidentally ran over him in the driveway. Cremated, his ashes were scattered at Railroad Park in Willcox where most of his memorabilia are on display.
His wife, Judy, remembered that Ronnie once said he did not wish to have people gawking at his body, so she made it a closed casket funeral. One of his biggest sources of support was his father Lacy Van Zant. The elder Van Zant died on August 3, 2004 in Jacksonville, Florida of pulmonary problems.