Don was born on July 2, 1929, in Morristown, New Jersey. He later moved to Colorado to attend the University of Denver, where he studied Hotel and Restaurant Management. During his final semester, in 1950, he met his future bride, Alice Snyder. The year of 1950 was the beginning of the Korean War and within three months of his graduation from DU, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to fulfill his military requirements. Shortly after his basic training, he and Alice were married on February 3, 1951, in his home town of Madison. Upon completion of a brief honeymoon and a few weeks of further Navy training in Bayonne, NJ, Don was assigned to a spare parts supply ship in Japan. His next assignment was located at COMSERVPAC, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where Alice joined him to finally begin their married life together.
When Don completed his military service in the fall of 1954, he and Alice established residency in Colorado. Their five daughters, Sherry, Pam, Wendy, Linda, and Kelly, were all born in Denver. Don’s post-Navy working career started in hotel management, but, after their first child was born, he pursued employment with manufacturing firms in administrative positions, eventually at supervisory and management levels. Having outgrown their first home in Denver, the Allens moved to a bigger home (designed by Don) in Happy Canyon. The family briefly moved to Overland Park, Kansas, then Bethany, Oklahoma, and finally to a brand-new home customized by the Allens in Boulder, Colorado, where they lived for fifty years.
When he retired in 1994 from Circuit Images, he found time for his woodworking hobby and updating their home. He and Alice enjoyed traveling (including 15 cruise trips), playing bridge with friends, reading and being at leisure.
While Don was many things – Veteran, businessman, chef, woodworker, volunteer, writer, and more – he was first and foremost a devoted family man. He stayed involved and always supportive with his parents and siblings, nephews and nieces, and his own children and grandchildren. Most of all, his devotion to Alice was unmatched and never-ending.
Don is survived by his wife Alice; daughters Pam (Ted), Wendy (Frank) and Kelly (Charlie); son-in-law Woody; grandchildren Aja (Nathan), Ash, Josie (Rod), Cody (Kevin) and Andrew (Emily); great-grandchildren Madison, Cole, Carson, Alyvia, Grant, Charlotte, and Theo; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by daughters Sherry and Linda, and grandson James.
A Celebration of Life will take place at 2:00pm on Wednesday September 14, 2022 at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel. A private interment will be at a later date at the Green Mountain Cemetery’s Columbarium.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested in Don’s name to the USS LST-325 Memorial, 610 NW Riverside Drive, Evansville, IN 47708 (www.lstmemorial.org), or to The Wild Animal Sanctuary, 1946 County Road 53, Keenesburg, CO 80643 (www.wildanimalsanctuary.org). Please indicate the donation is in memory of Don Allen.
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