Allen Dean Igou was born on December 22, 1936 in Hugo, Colorado to Kenneth and Grace (Kelly) Igou. Growing up in a small town, he would reminisce of swimming in the local pool with his 6 siblings and coming home to the smell of freshly baked bread that his mom would bake almost every day. He enjoyed deer hunting in the mountains with his father and camping with his scout troop.
Allen graduated from Hugo High school in 1954 and moved to Denver, Colorado to attend a map topography drafting school. During this time, he worked for a Civil Engineering firm and Martin-Marietta, where he consulted with an engineering firm on a highway project in Afghanistan.
In 1961, he was hired by the U.S. Government and worked at Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado as a mechanical engineering draftsman.
In 1967, Allen married the love of his life, Mary Helen Weibel. They had 46 wonderful years together, and will one day be reunited. Allen and Mary have two daughters and one grandson who were fortunate to be with him at his passing.
Due to health reasons, Allen moved his family to San Antonio, Texas in 1977 and continued his career at Randolph AFB, specifically supporting student pilot training design and fabricating cockpit familiarization trainers of various types of aircraft. He was a dedicated hard-worker and was awarded Civilian of the Year at Randolph AFB in 1990.
Allen retired in January 1995 after 35 years with the Department of Defense, having received many awards and commendations throughout his career.
Shortly after his retirement, his first grandson, Anthony, was born in 1996. Anthony was the light of his life, and they spent many good times together doing things that most fathers and sons would do, like attending soccer and basketball games, working on homework and school projects together, climbing trees, getting haircuts, and working on tasks around the house. Allen was a loving grandfather and instilled good morals and strong work ethics upon his daughters and grandson alike.
Allen had several hobbies throughout his life, such as skeet shooting, drawing, and bowling; but after his retirement, he was able to spend more time on his other hobbies, like completing crosswords and restoring old cars. He had a sharp mind and looked forward to the daily New York Times Crossword. At the time of his death, Allen was restoring a 1964 Chevrolet pickup that he intended to give to his grandson. Another hobby that he pursued was exercising. He tried to go to the gym daily, and attributed staying on top of his health, despite his breathing problems, to exercise. Allen was a strong man, and his doctor would often joke that he had “nine lives”, as he battled lung issues most of his life and had several close calls.
Allen is survived by his wife, Mary, his two daughters, Stacie (Igou) Madrigal, Rebecca, and grandson, James Anthony Madrigal, and one brother John (Jack) Igou living in Tucson, Arizona.
After a long battle with COPD, he passed peacefully with his family at his side. Allen was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers: Eugene, Donald, Wayne, Roger, and two sisters: Evelyn and Rosemary.
Allen wished to be cremated and his ashes taken back to the mountains of Colorado which he dearly loved.
A memorial mass will be held on Friday January 4, 2013 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Selma.
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