Allen Was born on July 25th, 1929 in Sheridan, Indiana to George Floyd and Harriet Louise (Wood) Walker. He had one brother, Kenneth, and one sister, Georgia Walter. He was raised on a farm in Westfield, Indiana, graduated from Westfield High School, and received his M.S. from Indiana University. He briefly taught high school mathematics and social studies at Linn Grove, Indiana before being drafted into the army during the Korean war during which time he served as a medic at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. Following his service, he continued teaching in LaPorte, Berne, and Greensburg, Indiana. He married Marlene Smith on June 20th, 1959 in Bloomington, Indiana. Allen taught at Rantoul, Illinois until joining IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. During his time with IBM, Allen rewrote the mathematics library for the Fortran IV compiler for the STRETCH 7030, IBM’s first supercomputer and developed the main storage allocation system for the S/360 System. After transferring to IBM in Rochester, Minnesota, he helped develop the S/3, S/38, S/36, and AS400 systems over his 40 year career. Upon retirement he taught mathematics and computer science at Ivy Tech State College in Bloomington, Indiana on a part-time basis for several years. He was a part-time professional magician and was a longtime member of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians, the Society of American Magicians, and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He was active in church as a deacon in the Southern Baptist Church for approximately 50 years and served as and elder in an independent church in Bloomington, Indiana. He participated in multiple missions trips to Brazil, Guatemala, Turkey, and Malta. He also spent many months teaching English with his wife at the Baptist Student Center in Bangkok, Thailand.
Allen is survived by his daughter, Fanya Houston, his son, Tavis (Sharon) Walker, his foster daughter, Phal (Dan) Toskin, and his grandchildren, Will, Ben, and Aria Houston and Emily, Noah, and Timothy Walker. He is preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and wife.
A visitation for Allen will be held Sunday, January 7, 2024 from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM at Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home, 7520 Aloma Avenue, Winter Park, Florida 32792, followed by a funeral service from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM.
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