Obituary for Elmer C. Allen
ELMER C. ALLEN
The last of his generation in the Allen family died peacefully on January 30 after many, many years battling a multitude of afflictions that gradually wore him out. He was one month past his 93rd birthday.
Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Elmer was the first child of his parents, George Allen
and Frances (Nolte) Allen. His younger siblings have predeceased him. In his youth spent in Jefferson, New Jersey, he learned how to hunt, fish and trap, and how to build and fix things. He also learned how to work and the value that goes along with that acquired trait. Although school was not one of his priorities, he graduated from Woodstown High School in 1947 and enlisted in the Army, serving in Germany before returning to marry his childhood sweetheart, Doris in 1952. He and Doris had been married for 64 years when she passed away in 2016.
After his military service and his marriage, Elmer lived in Mullica Hill, New Jersey and worked at various jobs including his stint as a long-haul truck driver before the Interstate system was built. Suffice it to say that he knew how to drive. After the birth of his son, Robert, who survives him, he got off the road and worked at DuPont and eventually at IBM where he enjoyed a 25+ year career and where he made many lifelong friends. It was his job at IBM that brought him to Berks County in 1964 and after his retirement, he (with the help of family and friends) for years fastidiously tended to a magnificent vegetable garden and stand of fruit trees that numbered
over 50 on his property in South Heidelberg Township. When Elmer wasn’t farming, he fished on Lake Ontario and other locations in Canada with his fishing buddies from Berks County. He also devoted significant time to projects in his woodshop. He built cabinets and furniture and turned many intricate bowls and other household implements on his lathe. His favorite shop activity, however, was building wooden toys for his grandchildren. Through his farming and woodworking, he made numerous friends in the Berks and Lancaster County communities with whom he shared the bounty of his work and to whom he was thankful for their help and
guidance.
Elmer is survived by his son, Robert, who lives in Manchester, Maine with his wife Sara Burns along with two grandsons, Andrew G. Allen, of Washington, D.C., and Aaron J. Allen, of New York City. Elmer requested that anyone wishing to honor his memory make a donation to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, or the Salvation Army.
Interment will occur at a later date.
The last of his generation in the Allen family died peacefully on January 30 after many, many years battling a multitude of afflictions that gradually wore him out. He was one month past his 93rd birthday.
Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Elmer was the first child of his parents, George Allen
and Frances (Nolte) Allen. His younger siblings have predeceased him. In his youth spent in Jefferson, New Jersey, he learned how to hunt, fish and trap, and how to build and fix things. He also learned how to work and the value that goes along with that acquired trait. Although school was not one of his priorities, he graduated from Woodstown High School in 1947 and enlisted in the Army, serving in Germany before returning to marry his childhood sweetheart, Doris in 1952. He and Doris had been married for 64 years when she passed away in 2016.
After his military service and his marriage, Elmer lived in Mullica Hill, New Jersey and worked at various jobs including his stint as a long-haul truck driver before the Interstate system was built. Suffice it to say that he knew how to drive. After the birth of his son, Robert, who survives him, he got off the road and worked at DuPont and eventually at IBM where he enjoyed a 25+ year career and where he made many lifelong friends. It was his job at IBM that brought him to Berks County in 1964 and after his retirement, he (with the help of family and friends) for years fastidiously tended to a magnificent vegetable garden and stand of fruit trees that numbered
over 50 on his property in South Heidelberg Township. When Elmer wasn’t farming, he fished on Lake Ontario and other locations in Canada with his fishing buddies from Berks County. He also devoted significant time to projects in his woodshop. He built cabinets and furniture and turned many intricate bowls and other household implements on his lathe. His favorite shop activity, however, was building wooden toys for his grandchildren. Through his farming and woodworking, he made numerous friends in the Berks and Lancaster County communities with whom he shared the bounty of his work and to whom he was thankful for their help and
guidance.
Elmer is survived by his son, Robert, who lives in Manchester, Maine with his wife Sara Burns along with two grandsons, Andrew G. Allen, of Washington, D.C., and Aaron J. Allen, of New York City. Elmer requested that anyone wishing to honor his memory make a donation to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, or the Salvation Army.
Interment will occur at a later date.