Gerald H. Allen

Gerald H. Allen, our dear husband, father, and grandfather, 85, passed away April 1, 2022, in Tucson, Arizona. Jerry, as he was best known, was born on September 17, 1936, in the small farming town of Caldwell, Idaho to Cyril Stanford Allen of Grace, Idaho, and Mary Hildred Haight of Oakley, Idaho. His father farmed and taught Agriculture in the local high school. Jerry grew up with three siblings: his brother Dean Stanford Allen, and two sisters, Shirley Fay Allen Carmack and Carolyn Allen McCord. Jerry is survived by both Dean and Shirley.

His father’s employment took the family to Ohio and Colorado before finally settling in Silver Spring, Maryland at the end of World War II. His father worked for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. His mother began her career as an elementary school teacher.

After Jerry’s graduation from high school in Maryland he returned to Idaho where he attended the University of Idaho, his father’s alma mater. Upon receiving his B.S. degree, he returned to the Washington, DC area where he was first employed. Following a short time in private industry, Jerry started his career with the Federal Government working, like his father, for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. He worked in the establishment of Food Stamps when that program was starting.

His work history is closely intertwined with his unquenchable thirst for adventure and new experiences. He traveled throughout Europe, developed a taste for French food and ways of life, took up skiing and sailing while working for the Department of Defense working first in Orleans, France, and then in Germany. He also took a few long leaves of absence from his job and traveled as a passenger in merchant marine ships on long voyages to the far reaches of Earth, visiting places away from the beaten path and seldom visited by ordinary tourists. These trips found him in Ceylon or Southern India, for example, from where he took many side trips as the ships loaded and unloaded cargo and suffered weather delays. Jerry’s adventurous spirit never balked at traveling by himself in strange places without any knowledge of the local customs or the language. His life was richer for that.

He returned to the USA and was employed by the Department of Navy for a short while. His job took him to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next. While working under the State Department/USAID in a project with the Brazilian government to process the 1970 Census of Population and Housing, he traveled throughout the country and immersed himself in the Brazilian way of life. He developed a taste for Brazilian cuisine, partied the night away during Carnival watching the Samba School parade and attending the large all-night balls, spent a lot of time on the beaches surveying the feminine swimming attire fashions, joined a tennis club. He also traveled deep into the Amazon landing by helicopter amidst angry Indians whom he appeased by literally giving them his shirt, afterwards paying the price by “being eaten alive” by insects. He met his second wife, Maria, then employed as a Student Assistant – Junior Computer Programmer at their office in Rio. They started sightseeing together and eventually fell in love despite their age difference.

When his contract ended, he returned to the USA via southern South America (he went by plane and buses all the way south to Chile and Argentina), boarded a Japanese freighter in Buenos Aires that carried passengers and crossed the Atlantic to South Africa. From there he traveled with one suitcase, by himself, throughout Africa, visiting game parks and exploring to his heart’s content. He then boarded a train and crossed the Sudan desert arriving in the middle of nowhere in the desert, without plans for what to do next. The Arabs, accustomed to the harshness of the desert, extended their generosity and took him to the nearest town. He then promptly booked passage on a ship on the Nile. He did not have food, a cabin, nor even a sleeping deck. Again, Arab generosity won the day, and he was fed and able to sleep on deck in a modicum of comfort where he claims he finally understood why Egyptians are so good at Astronomy. Then on through the Middle East finally ending in Europe. His journey took around six months during which Maria wrote him c/o the several US embassies on his route. Meanwhile Maria continued her university schoolwork in Mathematical Statistics and got accepted to The George Washington University to complete her degree. She and Jerry also arranged for a fiancée visa to the USA, as they could not be married in Brazil, a country that did not recognize divorce at the time. Upon his return to the Washington, DC area, Maria flew in to meet him, and they were married a few days later in Winchester, Virginia.

Jerry took Maria to many states in the USA to introduce her to his relatives and friends and to her new country. They settled in Washington, DC, Jerry back with the Department of Navy and Maria attending university and working as a computer programmer for a project of the university.

After about a year, Jerry responded to an ad in the Washington Post, and moved his family to Panama in 1976 where he was hired to work in financial and computer systems for the Panama Canal. Maria was soon hired by the same organization. They spent over 26 years in Panama where they both finished their careers and retired from the Panama Canal. Their son, Eric Haight Allen, was born in Panama City, Republic of Panama in 1980. Eric has 3 nationalities (Panama, USA, and Brazil), grew up fully bilingual, attended US schools until the 3rd grade and then moved to the International School of Panama during the tensions at the end of the Noriega regime. After high school he went on to college, changed majors and college once, and graduated from The University of Arizona with a BA in Psychology and a BS in Family Studies and Human Development. He went on to complete a master’s degree in Social Work in Chicago, and now works as a Clinical Social Worker for an insurance company in Chicago.

Back to Jerry, once again Panama was an opportunity for Jerry to expand on his adventures by land, sea, and air. Almost immediately he was playing tennis with a group of men. Their group, affectionately known as The Saturday Morning Ball Bangers Society, brought endless joy and friends for life. He did a bit of odd road/camping trips, but soon moved on to better pursuits. He obtained his Private Pilot license. He also bought a boat which he traded up a couple of times, took up deep sea fishing and spent a great deal of time chasing the big ones (he has the bill of a 351 lb. Black Marlin, his first, mounted on the wall with a commemorative plaque) and a good time. The family and friends spent many wonderful times at sea. Recreation opportunities in Panama were abundant, and Jerry attempted to savor them all. He also traveled extensively with his family throughout the world taking advantage of the generous vacation system of the Panama Canal.

Throughout his life Jerry had a connection to Sun Valley, Idaho. He started as a little boy taking vacations there with his parents and siblings and continued going there as an adult. He loved the outdoors and thoroughly enjoyed skiing in the winter, as well as playing tennis, hiking, fly fishing, taking float trips, riding horses, and attending concerts and plays in the summer. In 1988, he bought a condo in Sun Valley which turned into a “base” for visiting friends and relatives. Those were indeed wonderful times.

Jerry retired from the Panama Canal in 1990, after more than 30 years of government service. He stayed in Panama until the end of 1999 when his wife Maria also retired. Following retirement, they moved to Tucson, Arizona and started a new phase of their lives. Jerry made many good friends in Tucson and divided his time between summers in Sun Valley and the rest of the year in Tucson. There was even a time when his friends from Tucson were regular visitors to the Sun Valley area. Jerry and Maria continued to travel a lot until quite recently. Extensive travel to many beautiful places in the US and Canada were facilitated by the VW camping van which Jerry bought in the early 2000s and used for many years. Adventure travel to exotic places like Papua New Guinea and the outback in Australia eventually gave way to more subdued cruise travel. But even then, Jerry pursued as many adventures and new experiences as he could possibly do.

In 2008, his granddaughter Avery Elizabeth Allen, was born. From the moment they met they established a connection, loved each other very much and had wonderful memories.

Jerry is survived by his wife of 48 years, Maria Allen of Tucson, AZ, his son Eric Allen of Willowbrook, Illinois, his granddaughter Avery Allen of Chicago, Illinois, his sister Shirley Carmack of Salt Lake City, Utah, his brother Dean Allen of San Antonio, Texas as well as numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and their families. He was predeceased by his parents, Mary and Cyril Allen, and his sister Carolyn McCord.

VISITATION:

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects between 10:30 and 11:00 am, on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at the Memorial Chapel of the East Lawn Palms Mortuary and Cemetery, 5801 E Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ 85712.

MEMORIAL SERVICE:

A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation at 11:00 am with internment and gravesite service to follow in the Cemetery.

DONATIONS:

The family requests that donations be made to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in lieu of flowers.