Allen Thomas Vieira

Allen Vieira of Derwood, MD passed away on Wednesday, December 25, 2024. Allen was a retired nuclear engineer specializing in thermal hydraulics. He had been manager of Bechtel Power Corporation’s Nuclear Analysis group and worked 42 years for the company. Allen was the beloved husband of Priscilla (Penny) Butler; loving father of Gregory Vieira (Catherine Sundt) and Scotty Vieira; like a father to Gustavo Lemos (Amanda Kirk); son of Alice Vieira (née Bouchard) and Morris Vieira; brother of David Vieira (Cathy) and the late Carolyn Vieira; loving grandfather of Alice and Tommy Vieira; like a grandfather of Mason and Alyssa Lemos; dear friend of Elisabeth Oliveras.

Allen was born in Pawtucket, RI in 1952 on the same day and in the same hospital as his cousin Ann Maciejowski (née Krzywonos). He was raised in South Attleboro, MA in a family of Portuguese and French-Canadian ancestry. As a child, Allen was interested in science and sports and was a Boy Scout. Allen attended Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass-Lowell), majoring in nuclear engineering. He was on the swim team, specializing in breaststroke and winning the scholar athlete award his senior year. He received a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Virginia which connected him to employment in Maryland, where he lived for nearly 50 years. During that time, he became a pilot and owned a Piper Cherokee 180 airplane with Penny, which they flew out of Frederick Airport and Montgomery County Airpark. Al was also a proponent of science education, helping run the 4-H program “Adventures in Science”, a Saturday-morning educational program for children.

Al loved being outdoors and active. Throughout his life he enjoyed taking part in basketball, baseball/softball, ice skating, and golf. He coached his kids in little league baseball, softball, and soccer. He loved cross country skiing, even with minimal snow. He traveled regularly to New England and all across the country with Penny and the kids, often attending baseball games in stadiums on these trips. He particularly enjoyed attending Fenway Park, Camden Yards, and Nationals Park (and rooting for the resident teams). He loved traveling internationally and visited Newfoundland, Chile, Hong Kong, Switzerland, England, Finland, and Central Europe, and notably in 2024 he visited the Azores – the origin of his paternal lineage and surname. Allen became Grandpa Al in 2018 with the birth of granddaughter Alice and later grandson Tommy, named for his mother and his middle name, respectively.

Friends may call at DeVol Funeral Home, 10 East Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 on Thursday, January 2, 2025 from 2 to 4 pm, where services will be held on Friday, January 3, 2025 at 11 am. Interment Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.