Allen van Gelder

Allen Van Gelder, the first son of Norman and Dorothy van Gelder, grew up on Long Island, New York where he became the protégé of Dr. William Baty, his physics teacher in high school. He showed great promise winning an important state science fair with a home built van de Graaff generator. This award garnered him a full scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his excellence gained him a place on the Dean’s list in his freshman year. After graduation he worked in various capacities in the corporate world where his early knowledge of computers got him employment as a systems analyst.

However, his first love was always school, which drew him back into academia and in 1987 he was graduated from Stanford University with a PhD in Computer Science. He began a lifetime career as professor of computer science at the Baskin School of Engineering at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Allen shared many years with his partner, Jane Wilhelms, a fellow academic and close companion, whose passing preceded his.

He is fondly remembered as an elder brother who cared deeply about his family to whom he was always helpful, generous, and supportive.

He is survived by two younger brothers Peter and Philip (a third, Paul, predeceased him) and our beloved cousin Helen van Gelder, now the seniormost of the van Gelder family, as well as numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.

A memorial gathering is planned at our home in Geyserville, California, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Continuing in his legacy of generosity, donations may be made in his memory to the Nature Conservancy (www.preserve.nature.org)