Allen E. Brown, Jr

Allen was born the sole child of Allen (Sr) and Elizabeth Brown of German descent, in Mineola, New York on March 7, 1932. As an only child Allen grew up lost in a rich imagination filled with thoughts of future adventures traversing the seas (his first love) and a fascination with airplanes and trains.  Accordingly, Allen was to join the US Navy in July of 1951. Deployed to the Korean conflict, he served proudly and faithfully, earning numerous medals and commendations over a period of 3 years. He was to be discharged honorably in May of 1954 upon the sudden passing of his mother. Upon returning stateside he was to meet his loving wife, Dolores. Together they moved to Farmingdale, New York and began a family. Allen may have grown up in a solitary setting, but it is in the role of husband and father he found his greatest joy. He held an immense, if quiet, pride in being a provider and family man and relished the company of both his own family and that of his wife's rather large Irish family of origin. As it turned out Allen was very much a "people person".

Allen is survived by his children Allen E. Brown, III and his wife, Michele; Teresa Lynn Lovell, and her husband, Timothy, and Christopher J. Brown and his wife, Minju. A fourth child, Tracy Ann, born in 1962, lived only a few hours. She was never forgotten. Also surviving are his grandchildren, Joshua John Lovell, Sean Colin Lovell, Lauren Kathleen Riley (nee Brown, and Kelsey Lynne Brown.

Allen was a hardworking man who was a master woodworker by trade. He enjoyed a career with Grumman Aerospace that spanned four decades employing these talents. He worked on such projects as building a full-sized mockup of the original Apollo Lunar Module and numerous top secret military projects. He also maintained a career as a freelance carpenter. In his “so-called” spare time Allen participated as a Boy Scout Leader, sang in the choir and ushered at All Saints Church, a member of the Knights of Columbus, Sergeant of Arms in the American Legion at Post 167, a volunteer animal caretaker at Topsail Humane Society and attended Grumman Retiree Club functions. Allen combined his passions to build crafted motorboats and many other woodworking projects. In these boats he and his family explored the shores of Long Island, NY on countless weekends and vacations.

In his children, Allen instilled many of his best qualities: a love of woodworking, an earnest respect for the tools, of doing a job with precision, of pride in a job done well. Also imprinted in them was a love of animals. From his childhood Newfoundland to his last three-legged pup, he relished their company, as they did him.

Those who knew Allen, invariably say he was a good man. To those of us who knew him well, he was the "best" man. Although to us he was simply "dad".

On his last day Allen spoke constantly about the need to see his wife. Although he had not picked up a pencil in months, he suddenly drew a sailboat, a single solitary sailboat. To anyone who knew him even slightly this was simply a storybook ending.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, March 3, at All Saints Catholic Church, Hampstead.  The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Thursday, March 2, at Andrews Mortuary, Hampstead.

Please sign the online Guestbook at www.andrewsmortuary.com