Leonard Allen, 97, of Lenox, MA passed away at Kimball Farms Nursing Home on Monday, April 12, 2021. Leonard was a devoted husband, father and beloved “Poppy” to his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Leonard was born on January 16, 1924 in New York City to Eastern European immigrants, Joseph and Pearl (Gluck) Allen. They lived in the Bronx until 1936 when the family relocated to Pittsfield, MA. Leonard was a gifted student and graduated Pittsfield High School in 1939 at only 15 years of age.
In 1941 Leonard and his family moved back to the Bronx and enrolled in NYU as an electrical engineering student. While at NYU he enrolled in the ROTC program and when he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in 1943, he was sent to Army Signal Corps OCS in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After considerable training, Leonard was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July of 1944 and was shipped to the South Pacific. He and his unit were transferred to Korea for occupation duty in 1946. In June of that year, he was promoted to first lieutenant and sent home to the U.S.
On Leonard’s first day of looking for work he was hired as an engineer by the Western Electric Company, a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone System. He would continue to work for the various iterations of the telephone company for his entire 40-year career, retiring from what was then Verizon in 1987.
Leonard remained in the Army reserves and due to his telephone experience, he was sent to Paris during the Korean War to help set up the telephone system for General Eisenhower at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe).
Leonard returned home in June of 1952 and (reluctantly) accompanied his brother to a dance hosted by a Jewish young men and women’s group. There he met the love of his life, Erika Lenz. After a whirlwind romance, they were married on December 14, 1952 and moved to Wantagh, NY in 1956. They remained happily married until Erika’s death on December 13, 2009- one day before their 57th wedding anniversary.
In September of 1984, Leonard and Erika bought a summer cottage on Richmond Pond in Richmond, MA which became their “corner of heaven”. It was a wonderful place to enjoy all of the beauty of the Berkshires surrounded by family and friends. They took full advantage of all of the cultural offerings of the area as well as spending many happy hours entertaining on their dock. Given’s Leonard’s engineering background, he spent many happy hours on various home maintenance projects, not just in his home but in the family cottages nearby.
After Erika’s death, Leonard moved to Kimball Farms in Lenox, MA where he lived until his death. He was an avid bridge player and continued to play in various games almost until the time of his death. He also had enjoyed tennis and golf for many years.
Above all, Leonard loved and was loved by his family. He leaves behind his daughter Amy Allen of Hastings on Hudson, NY, his son and daughter-in-law Richard and Holly Allen of Cranston, RI, his grandchildren Alicia (John) Briles of Harrogate, UK, Jessica (Michael) Taylor of Sharon, MA, Michael (Suzanne) Long of Panama City, Panama, Allison (Carroll) Oglesby of Pine Knoll Shores, NC and four great-grandchildren: Lucas and Hunter Briles and Emma and Jake Taylor. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Katherine Levitan of New Lebanon, NY and many nieces and nephews.
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