Allan W Tull

Allan W. Tull passed away last week at the fine age of ninety years old. He died surrounded by his family in Plano, TX. Allan lived a full and healthy life during those ninety years, with his wife, Elaine, the center of his universe and the love of his life from the day they met in high school in Bloomfield, CT. Their marriage spanned sixty-seven years, and brought them two children, five grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

At Bloomfield High School, Allan, (known as “Archie” to his friends) excelled in academics, and sports, where he was a three-sport athlete, who played soccer, basketball and his favorite sport, baseball where he was the captain of his high school team. He was class president and headed the Student Council. He was accepted at Amherst College, and graduated in 1951 with a degree in Economics, and went to work at SNETCO (Southern New England Telephone Company). Soon after he was drafted, due to the Korean Conflict, enlisted in the Navy, and accepted an invitation to OCS (Officers Candidate School) in Newport, RI. Allan made it through OCS, by the “skin of this teeth” after getting several unintended demerits along the way – a citation for having his hair too long (something he often laughed about later in life when hair became a scarce commodity).

Allan and Elaine’s first child, David, was born, while Allan was on tour in Italy, and he did not see him until Dave was 6 months old. Cuban cigars, pizza and a love for Italian beer were discovered during this period of time, and became lifelong favorites. He chronicled these years in color slides, and later added dialogue and a soundtrack to a slide show that he loved to share with friends and family. Needless to say, his wife was happy to see him return, and after two and a half years, he completed his tour with the Navy as a Lieutenant.

Allan returned to his position at SNETCO where he rose through a number of positions over the course of almost thirty years. A highlight of this time was the birth of daughter Sharon. The family made a series of moves in Connecticut, ending up in Madison, CT where Sharon and David spent most of their school years. He was very proud of his children, who stayed close to him throughout his life, and were at this side when he passed. He was particularly proud to have his son follow some of the same paths he had chosen - particularly his love of baseball, and the fact that he also attended Amherst College. Daughter Sharon pleased him by following her lifelong dream of being a teacher. Sharon currently teaches first grade in the Plano area.

Allan retired from SNETCO at the age of fifty-three, and his family worried that he might drive them all crazy without enough to occupy his time. However, soon after a year of consulting, and quite a lot of international travel, he began volunteering on a local level with AARP in CT, helping to run a “Safe Driving Program”. After a few years he found himself invited to participate as a board member for AARP in Washington, DC. In this capacity he was able to travel with his wife, to meet some of the “movers and shakers” in Washington working on issues relating to Medicare, Insurance and other retirement issues. This was the most fulfilling part of his working life and a time he thoroughly enjoyed. And he excelled at it! He soon became Treasurer of the organization and was later selected as Chairman of AARP. He met Bill and Hillary Clinton several times and Vice President Al Gore. He was very well respected for his contributions to the organization and made a number of long-time friends during his time at AARP.

Elaine and Allan eventually moved to Arizona to escape the cold New England winters, and found themselves fully immersed in their new community at Sun Lakes. They both absolutely loved the southwest and the friends they made in Arizona. Warm weather, outdoor activity, and plenty of organized events (including shared season tickets to the Diamondbacks) suited Allan perfectly. He was very happy in Arizona but recognized that a move closer to family was a wise idea, and so they moved to Frisco, TX in March of 2015 to be close to Sharon and her family.

As one of his granddaughters recently commented “he was sharp as a tack - better with an iPhone than most 60 year olds”. He was always curious about technology, and always interested in what was happening in the world. He loved tracking his investments and checking out what was happening in the stock market. And while he had a gruff demeanor, which could be difficult at times, he was a “softie” under the surface. He dearly loved his Elaine, and needed to know where she was at all times, even if she were only a few steps away in a different room. She was his light throughout life, the center of his universe, and the reason he worked so hard to overcome the injuries, and complications that afflicted him over the past several months - his longing to get back to their quiet, simple life together.

While we all dearly miss him right now, we remind ourselves that he lived a truly wonderful and full life of ninety years. We celebrated this important birthday last July with every single person in his family traveling to Texas to be with him. He’d asked for only one thing for his birthday - to see a ballgame. He got a lot more . . . and so did we!

As his great granddaughter Sienna said when she walked through the door, the first of his surprise birthday visitors - “How’s it goin’ Great Grandpa?” I think life went pretty well!

Allan W. Tull is survived by Elaine, his wife of 67 years, his son David and daughter-in-law Amy of Plymouth, MA, daughter Sharon Bohannon and son-in-law Stephen of Frisco, TX, and 5 grandchildren – Benjamin Tull of Westmont, IL, Rebecca Guarino of Southborough, MA, Emily Pollakowski of Bronxville, NY, Katie Phillips of Frisco, TX, and Allyson Goldman of Dallas, TX. Seven great-grandchildren include two newborn cousins – Caroline Goldman and Emmeline Phillips who are cheering the family up! as well as grandsons, Chance and Joseph Allan Tull, and three granddaughters, Sienna and Brooke Guarino, and Lyanna Pollakowski.