Richard K. Allen

Dick Allen was a man who enjoyed family and enjoyed life. Born Richard K. Allen on May 16, 1925 in the family home in Alpine Township, Dick was the second child born to Iva (Skinner) Allen, along with big brother Alfred (but everybody called him Buster), 18 months his senior. Iva worked extremely hard to support her boys, so they lived with their grandparents on a farm in Fremont.

The boys, of course, had plenty of work to do around the farm to help out in those lean days leading up to World War II, in the throes of the Great Depression; but they also had some very fun, very fond moments. The boys went through school in Sparta, but Dick wanted to join the military service from an early age. And when Dick made up his mind about something, even as a boy, it was always hard to get him to change it.

During his teen years, Dick was introduced to a young woman named Lorraine Wing, set up by a mutual friend. The two hit it off, and began a life-long love affair.

After the two were engaged, Dick turned 17, and was finally allowed to enlist in the service. So he signed up to become a Marine and was soon shipped with his troop overseas to the Philippines. Lorraine had moved in with Dick's mother to help care for Dick's grandmother. Iva practically adopted Lorraine, whose own mother had passed away a few years prior. Dick and Lorraine kept close contact during his time overseas.

After Dick was injured, he was sent back to the U.S. for recovery. By the time he was out, the war was practically won. Still, his time in the service was an important and life-changing event for Dick, who kept his sense of patriotism his whole life, even raising and lowering his flag outside his home every day.

Getting out of the service did give him a chance to be with his beloved Lorraine, now firmly entrenched in his family. When he returned home from the war in March of 1945, he was overjoyed to see her again and the two quickly planned their wedding. They were married August 18, 1945, and enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon in Chicago.

Now back from the war, Dick tried his hand at a few different jobs, but none really took hold of him. His uncles soon convinced him to join them and his brother Buster in their family painting business. Well, Dick stuck with it; he painted primarily commercial jobs, working with a variety of contractors and was often the foreman on the job.

Shortly after Dick married Lorraine, the two bought property on Hunsberger Rd. NE and began building their house as they could afford. They even lived in the basement of the house until they could put the main floor on! Lorraine and Dick, being the jack-of-all-trades man that he was, did much of the work themselves.

Just as their house was growing, so was their family. In 1947, they had their first child, Lynn, followed by Rich a short time later. Kris completed the family circle a few years later.

Dick did everything he could to support his family. He even worked two full-time jobs at once for awhile! But that was just the way Dick was, he was always a hard worker, always a provider.

Of course, Dick also was the family's leading provider of laughs, too. He was a jack of all trades, but master of none, especially when it came to cooking. He loved being outdoors with his family, but never quite mastered the art of grilling - there was always a lot of charred food! Or another memorable time involved a turkey and a microwave, with disastrous result and much disappointment on Lorraine's part! But he sure tried hard.

Dick had great skills as a craftsman. He built his first boat and it was so big, he had to modify the basement door to get it out of the house! Dick enjoyed taking the family camping up north - first to Lake Charlevoix, later to the family's cottage they purchased on Bass Lake near Greenville. Dick would take his boat out on the water (even though he wasn't a strong swimmer), to to fishing or pull family on water skis. Dick always loved fishing and was pretty competitive about it. He'd go fishing with Lorraine and some friends and never quite liked it when somebody caught a bigger fish.

Dick enjoyed life and enjoyed people and loved attention. He had a great sense of humor and loved to tease people. He was outgoing. He enjoyed listening and certainly laughing. That was something Dick always made sure was in plentiful supply around the Allen household. Oh, he could be stern when he had to - the kids always knew never to carry their hijinks too far or dad would get involved - but he was really a big softy. He enjoyed taking the kids sledding in the winter and roller skating on Sunday afternoons. Dick was a big part of his kids' lives, and once even built birdhouses for every student in Lynn's elementary class!

Dick was forced to retire in 1979, following a scaffolding accident at work, which led to several surgeries and health problems. But Dick never got down and stayed as active and positive as ever. He hated to sit still and his hands were never idle.

He loved to tinker with things, and then got involved with flea markets, where he would buy broken-down bikes and fix them up and sell them.

But Dick loved so many things in his life. He loved playing cards, poker or setback, and loved animals. He always had pets around, most recently his daughter's dog, Hunter. He loved feeding birds and squirrels in the yard. He loved to eat and loved dessert more than almost anything. That's part of what made their marriage work so well over 60 years.

Dick Allen was a man of so many talents. He was a jack-of-all-trades kind of man, but he wasn't master of none. You see, Dick had mastered what so many of us never quite understand: That love of life, and love of family, always trumps everything else.

ALLEN - Mr. Richard "Dick" Allen, age 80 of Plainfield Township, passed away October 2, 2005. Dick was a Marine veteran of World War II. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lorraine; their children Lynn and Gary Champion, Rich Allen and Kris Allen; grandchildren Michelle Champion and Dave Hoover, Mike and Lisa Champion, Matthew and Jill Arim, Ben Arim, Kendra Arim; great grandchildren Trevor, Kylee, Carrera and Brianna; brother and sister-in-law Al "Buster" and Wanda Allen; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Ruth and Harold Krul and several nieces, nephews and special friends. A service to celebrate Dick's life will be held on Thursday, October 6 at 1 p.m. at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes - Van Strien Creston Chapel, 1833 Plainfield NE where relatives and friends are invited to meet with his family on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. For those who wish, memorial contributions to American Diabetes Association are appreciated. You may read Dick's life story and share a favorite memory by visiting www.lifestorynet.com