Allen Shuble Wonch

Allen Shuble Wonch, 86, of Fort Collins, died March 6th following a lengthy and protracted battle with aging. He was born to Charles Robert and Margaret Lucille Wonch in an unheated bedroom with flickering light of a kerosene lamp. That night was very cold in Clyde Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs. 8 oz. at birth—the doctor wrote 2:50 A.M. His mother swore she was never going thru that again. She almost succeeded. Dad is survived by a younger sister, Katherine (Richard) Hougaboom who resides in Michigan.

Dad played football in high school, only because they needed every male with 2 arms and legs to fill out the team. Dad had zero interest in team sports of any kind. However, yearly he would want to watch the Indy 500 on TV only to make it thru 5 laps before declaring that it was boring.

Upon graduation from high school, Dad entered the Navy where he served aboard the USS Ammen. Like many young men he left after his 4 years because he wanted to get on with life. He later regretted this decision. Dad loved to talk about all the places he had seen and people he met while in the service. He won chocolate bars and awed the French with his marksmanship at a carnival shooting gallery in Marseilles and made limeade in Cuba He spoke well of the times in torpedo training on Guantanamo Bay but never saw combat in Korea.

He met Mom, Jane Kelly at the student ministry of the Peoples Church in East Lansing when both were students at Michigan State University. Mom and Dad were married July 26th, 1957 in a traditional but low key ceremony at Peoples Church.

Dad graduated from MSU with a degree in geology in 1959, a year when no one was hiring geologists. For the rest of his life, Dad was cynical about the value of higher education. Nevertheless, he himself was an avid reader, he researched and wrote family history and enjoyed learning virtually to the day he died. The last three books he read (actually studied) were about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Dad and Mom worked 29 years in printing and manuscript preparation, much of the time self employed but also for large firms in Midland, MI and La Porte, IN. In 1987 Dad closed the Fort Collins typesetting business. His next employment was as a Larimer County Ranger, which led to lots of interesting stories, often involving drunken boaters. He worked from 1989 to 1996 for the Larimer County Sheriffs Office as Detention Deputy. Dad would promptly correct us if we said "jail"—It was not a Jail, it was a Detention Center. Dad found this job interesting but stressful. He was respected by the inmates, once being immortalized in an original poem published in the "jailhouse" rag.

In the early 70s while living in La Porte, Indiana Dad and Mom were integral in establishing the 1st recycling center in town. Dad was a strong believer in stewardship of the planet, recycling, organic gardening, composting and renewable energy. He got one of the first Hybrid cars that Ford produced. He also rode his bicycle everywhere until he caught the front tire in a pothole, resulting in a life altering fall June 1, 2017.

Some of Dad and Mom's favorite times were hikes with Colorado Mountain Club. From the late 70s thru late 1980s both Dad and Mom were very active in the Larimer Country Search and Rescue team. Participation in the Camera Club and the CSU International Center was also significant to our family.

At Timberline Church Dad put in countless hours of volunteering as well as attendance at worship services. The 1998 medical-construction mission in Guatemala was a highlight in his life.

Almost daily Dad enjoyed having coffee and pastry at Whole Foods but particularly when accompanied by Randy, his special late-in-life friend.

Dad loved cats and dogs. We grew up with a Doberman named Styx. To us, Styx was the best trained dog in Michigan. Dad and Mom tried to raise their daughters the same way. It was partially successful; we did pretty well with SIT and not so good with STAY and COME.

Dad loved desserts, getting together to eat and talk family news to world events. He hated silent letters like the "t" in Margot. He thought all words should be spelled just the way they sounded and that the US would be better on the metric system and the 24 hour clock. He was stubborn, opinionated, loving and kind.

Dad is survived by his wife Jane of 60 years, older daughter Nancy Pennington (David), younger daughter Barbara Gibbens (Randy), 3 grandsons, Zach (Sarah), Brian and Tyler Pennington, and 2 great-grandchildren, Corbin and Margot Pennington. Trooper and Abby, his dogs, were loyal companions to the end.

Services will be held at Timberline Church, 2908 S. Timberline Rd, Fort Collins, on Thursday, April 5th, 2018, starting at 10:00am.