Allen Keith Hall

Allen K Hall was born in Milwaukee WI on October 16, 1924. He is the son of Forrest Clarke and Crystal Louise (Jackson) Hall. The family moved to Osseo WI where his father setup a dental practice, where Allen grew up. He liked to tell stories about his life, relying on his great memory that could remember dates and names of the people he grew up with or worked with later in life. He often talked about going to the “swimming hole” and swimming with the boys from town. It was not uncommon to leave home in the morning and not return until dinnertime, without his mother worrying.

His father was known for his kindness and never turned anyone away. Allen told stories about how his father would rent a car, and his parents with him in the backseat, would go from farm to farm picking up items as payment for dental services. He said that by the time they would get home, he was crowded in the backseat with eggs, meat, and other sundry items. He told this story with perfect recall of the make and model of the rental car too.

One story he relayed was when he asked his father for 1 penny for some candy. His father did not have a penny, but he had a nickel and told Allen to return the 4 cents in change. Allen did not, he spent the entire nickel on candy and was grounded. He often talked about when his father would sit him in the dentist chair and clean his teeth, whether he wanted to or not. To his father’s credit, Allen died with all of the natural teeth.

Allen went to Ripon College in Ripon WI. During his first year, he joined the ROTC and shortly after, enlisted in the Army and served in WWII. He rarely spoke about his time during the war but did relay he was a forward artillery observer and participated in the Battle of the Bulge.

When he returned to Ripon College to finish his degree, he met and fell in love with Mary Lou Becker. They were married in July 1947 and Susan was their first of three girls that would bless their lives. After college, Allen joined the Army with a Regular Army Commission. This led to much travel around the world. Jane would join the family when they lived in Germany. When Allen served in the Korean war, Mary Lou and the two daughters stayed in the States. Christine joined the family upon his return when they lived in California. While in Korea, Allen volunteered to build and operate an orphanage.

After Korea, Allen received his Masters of Arts in Mathematics from Murfreesboro State, TN and then was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. He retired from the Army in 1967 as a Major.

The family then settled in Portland Oregon for a short period of time. Allen felt his calling was to teach mathematics at the collegiate level. One day on his way home from substitute teaching, he saw a sign to take a math test for a job with IBM. Not knowing what an IBM was, he took the challenge, completed the test and was offered a position as a Software Engineer at the Boulder CO IBM office. He wrote programs for the IBM mainframe computers that at the time, took up large rooms.

The family moved to Boulder in 1968 where they bought there first house after 21 years of marriage. During their time in Boulder, the Hall’s golfed at the Flatirons Country Club and bowled. The Halls were also active in St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church in Boulder, where Allen determined his calling to become a priest under the guidance of Fr. Pat.

After retiring from IBM in 1982, Allen answered that calling to become an Episcopal Priest, and was ordained in December of 1985. He served the Episcopal Churches of St. Andrews in Ft. Lupton and St. Elizabeth in Brighton until he retired in 1990. One of his highlights he fondly recalled was switching churches with a priest (also Fr. Hall), in New Zealand. They switched houses and parishes for six months, so Fr. Hall from New Zealand could ski Colorado and Allen and Mary Lou could tour New Zealand. His dream was to move the family to New Zealand because he enjoyed it so much. His natural ability to tell stories has always been a gift of his.

After retiring as a Priest (he often stated you really never retire), he served as a supply Priest and interim rector, happily working at Trinity for several years.

Allen enjoyed reading, golfing, history and family. He loved to read and always had a pile of books until he discovered a Kindle, where he has hundreds of books. His favorite reading was biographical history. He could tell you many stories about presidents and the government, not only the US, but foreign governments as well.

They traveled frequently, primarily on cruises throughout the world and kept meticulous records of their journeys. The entire family had the opportunity to go on an Alaskan cruise together. Having pea soup and watching the glaciers calve was spectacular. He also attended all school and military reunions he could, until he could not travel comfortably any longer. He also took one of his grandsons on a military tour through Europe, retracing the steps of Allen’s Army division in WWII.

He loved all of his family, but during the past few years, really enjoyed watching his great grandchildren learning, growing and playing with Legos and blocks. His eyes always twinkled just watching them. He loved to give them rides on his walker as they waved to other residents of the Bridge Assisted Living, in Longmont CO.

The family encourages any contributions in honor of Allen to be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, Greeley CO.