1931
Donald
2016
Donald Keith Allen
July 24, 1931 — July 6, 2016
Cottonwood Heights – Donald Keith Allen, 84, died July 6, 2016 at 3:43 p.m. due to coronary failure brought on by sepsis and other complications following a routine cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal surgery).
He leaves his wife, Lenore Murray Allen; son, Douglas Allen (Kerry); daughter, Susan Fox (Don); son, Scott Allen (Julie); daughter, Jane Robertson (Bill); grandchildren, Cody Allen, Sarajayne Holman (Russ), Sam Allen, Heather Allen, Nathan Allen, Ashley Allen, Marina Allen, Benjamin Allen, Kayleigh Johnson (Howard), Conrad Robertson, and two-and-one-half great grandchildren, Jack Holman, Oliver Holman, and Charles Howard Johnson V (Debuting this November). Keith is also survived by his brother Curtis Allen (Elaine), sister Lynn Schroader (Fred), sisters-in-law Carol Allen and Lois Allen. He was preceded in death by Robert Allen (Lois), Harold Allen (Carol), and his parents Harold Benjamin Allen and Jennie Sigurbjörg Bearnson.
From his birth in Preston, Idaho July 24, 1931, Don was known as Keith to friends and relatives. You will know how people know Don by the name they know him by. He is “Keith” to most relatives and early friends, “Don” to his descendants and later friends, and “Don Diode” to former students who were fortunate enough to have been in his electronics class at Olympus High School.
Keith served as an LDS missionary in the Southern States Mission where he gained a deeper testimony of the LDS Church and a deep knowledge and respect for what he referred to as the plain and rational LDS teachings and doctrines. That faith endured throughout his life and manifest most recently in an eagerness to “start the next amazing adventure.” Elder Allen developed a joy and competency in teaching during his LDS mission, from which so many later benefitted.
Corporal Allen served in Korean for over a year. At the end of his basic training, the Drill Sergeant challenged the trainees to do 100 push-ups in order to earn a multiday pass. Keith had very strong upper-body strength (he could go up and down stairs on his hands) and asked if he could receive the pass if he did 50 one-handed push-ups. He used his pass to return home and marry Lenore Murray (and conceive Douglas Keith Allen). When Corporal Allen returned from Korea, he was met by a suspicious son who was not interested in being out-ranked or giving up his role as the man of the house.
Keith attended Utah State University where he received a BS in Industrial Arts and from where he later earned a master’s degree. At that point, Keith began going by his first name, Don. He taught electronics at Olympus High School for nearly three decades and developed deep friendships with students such as Ken Meyer and Robert Gunnell that will last beyond their cherished visits to Don in the hospital just before he passed away. Their love and respect for him have brought great joy and pride to Don’s family.
After retiring from teaching at Olympus High School, Don taught mathematics at Salt Lake Community College and developed a deep friendship with his fishing companion and friend, Darrell Faraday. Don and Lenore have been blessed with loving, kind friends and neighbors, who have brought great joy and comfort to Don and his family. Don had great respect for Bishop Grant Bletzacker and the members of the Canyon Ridge Ward (Butler 8th Ward). His home teaching families, fellow high priests, Sunday school teachers, and fellow members were a meaningful part of his life. Many of his friendships with ward members have lasted for almost sixty years. Don served in the Bishopric and High Council, as a temple worker at the Salt Lake and Jordan River Temples, as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, and in many other leadership and teaching positions.
The deep love and support given by the friends and family of Don and Lenore are such a comfort at this time. We are forever grateful for your kind words, loving actions, and great show of respect for Don and his family. The loss of daily connections and conversations with Don create a hole in our lives that have yet to be fully comprehended, but that hole is quickly filled with so many loving, sweet memories of the joy he brought to our lives and the ongoing joy and love we feel having loved him and having been loved by him.
A viewing will be held Sunday, July 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Mountain View Memorial Mortuary at 3115 East 7800 South, Salt Lake City, Utah. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the Canyon Ridge Ward LDS chapel at 2695 East 7000 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The dedication of the grave and interment will be held immediately following the funeral services.Service Information
Viewing July 10, 2016 at 6:00-8:00 pm
3115 East 7800 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
Funeral Service
July 11, 2016 at 11:00 am
Canyon Ridge Ward LDS chapel at 2695 East 7000 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
He leaves his wife, Lenore Murray Allen; son, Douglas Allen (Kerry); daughter, Susan Fox (Don); son, Scott Allen (Julie); daughter, Jane Robertson (Bill); grandchildren, Cody Allen, Sarajayne Holman (Russ), Sam Allen, Heather Allen, Nathan Allen, Ashley Allen, Marina Allen, Benjamin Allen, Kayleigh Johnson (Howard), Conrad Robertson, and two-and-one-half great grandchildren, Jack Holman, Oliver Holman, and Charles Howard Johnson V (Debuting this November). Keith is also survived by his brother Curtis Allen (Elaine), sister Lynn Schroader (Fred), sisters-in-law Carol Allen and Lois Allen. He was preceded in death by Robert Allen (Lois), Harold Allen (Carol), and his parents Harold Benjamin Allen and Jennie Sigurbjörg Bearnson.
From his birth in Preston, Idaho July 24, 1931, Don was known as Keith to friends and relatives. You will know how people know Don by the name they know him by. He is “Keith” to most relatives and early friends, “Don” to his descendants and later friends, and “Don Diode” to former students who were fortunate enough to have been in his electronics class at Olympus High School.
Keith served as an LDS missionary in the Southern States Mission where he gained a deeper testimony of the LDS Church and a deep knowledge and respect for what he referred to as the plain and rational LDS teachings and doctrines. That faith endured throughout his life and manifest most recently in an eagerness to “start the next amazing adventure.” Elder Allen developed a joy and competency in teaching during his LDS mission, from which so many later benefitted.
Corporal Allen served in Korean for over a year. At the end of his basic training, the Drill Sergeant challenged the trainees to do 100 push-ups in order to earn a multiday pass. Keith had very strong upper-body strength (he could go up and down stairs on his hands) and asked if he could receive the pass if he did 50 one-handed push-ups. He used his pass to return home and marry Lenore Murray (and conceive Douglas Keith Allen). When Corporal Allen returned from Korea, he was met by a suspicious son who was not interested in being out-ranked or giving up his role as the man of the house.
Keith attended Utah State University where he received a BS in Industrial Arts and from where he later earned a master’s degree. At that point, Keith began going by his first name, Don. He taught electronics at Olympus High School for nearly three decades and developed deep friendships with students such as Ken Meyer and Robert Gunnell that will last beyond their cherished visits to Don in the hospital just before he passed away. Their love and respect for him have brought great joy and pride to Don’s family.
After retiring from teaching at Olympus High School, Don taught mathematics at Salt Lake Community College and developed a deep friendship with his fishing companion and friend, Darrell Faraday. Don and Lenore have been blessed with loving, kind friends and neighbors, who have brought great joy and comfort to Don and his family. Don had great respect for Bishop Grant Bletzacker and the members of the Canyon Ridge Ward (Butler 8th Ward). His home teaching families, fellow high priests, Sunday school teachers, and fellow members were a meaningful part of his life. Many of his friendships with ward members have lasted for almost sixty years. Don served in the Bishopric and High Council, as a temple worker at the Salt Lake and Jordan River Temples, as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, and in many other leadership and teaching positions.
The deep love and support given by the friends and family of Don and Lenore are such a comfort at this time. We are forever grateful for your kind words, loving actions, and great show of respect for Don and his family. The loss of daily connections and conversations with Don create a hole in our lives that have yet to be fully comprehended, but that hole is quickly filled with so many loving, sweet memories of the joy he brought to our lives and the ongoing joy and love we feel having loved him and having been loved by him.
A viewing will be held Sunday, July 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Mountain View Memorial Mortuary at 3115 East 7800 South, Salt Lake City, Utah. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the Canyon Ridge Ward LDS chapel at 2695 East 7000 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The dedication of the grave and interment will be held immediately following the funeral services.Service Information
Viewing July 10, 2016 at 6:00-8:00 pm
3115 East 7800 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
Funeral Service
July 11, 2016 at 11:00 am
Canyon Ridge Ward LDS chapel at 2695 East 7000 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
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