Richmond Allen, age 93, an economist and retired Senior Foreign Service Officer died on November 24th, 2022 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. He passed away from complications associated with Covid and influenza. Mr. Allen (“Rich”) was born in Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate of Middlesex School, Williams College and New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, he served on active duty as a Lieutenant (j.g.) in the U.S. Naval Reserve during 1951-55. Upon retiring from military service, he moved to New York City where he worked as an economist for IBM World Trade Corporation. In 1967 he joined the U.S. Agency for International Development as a Program Economist, serving successively in Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Jordan. He was Chief of the Embassy/USAID Joint Economic Office during the last two years of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and was the recipient of Superior and Meritorious Honor awards.
Following retirement from the Foreign Service in 1985, Rich settled in McLean where he did consulting work on USAID contracts. More recently, from 2001 to 2012, he worked part-time for the U.S. Tennis Association, Mid-Atlantic Section, while attending to his own tennis game. An avid tennis player since his youth, Rich was ranked within the top five in every Mid-Atlantic age division from 60s through 80s, and no. 1 in the 85s.
While a full-time resident of McLean, Rich has been a life-long Summer resident of Little Compton, R.I. where he built his own house in 1965. He was a member of the Sakonnet Golf Club and spent many happy summers in Little Compton in his favorite pursuits of tennis, golf and striped bass fishing.
Rich is survived by his wife of 47 years, Huong Pham Allen; his daughters, Judy and Nancy Allen; a step daughter, Linh Kohlbeck of Powhatan, Virginia; a stepson, Khanh Allen of McLean, VA; and seven grandchildren.
The funeral will be held at Murphy Funeral home in Falls Church, VA on Saturday, December 10 at 1:00pm. Donations, in lieu of flowers, should be made to Doctors Without Borders.
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