Dennis James Allen

Dennis James Allen Born in Denver Colorado on July 19, 1942 Died in Fort Collins on February 28, 2017 Dennis is survived by Trudie, his wife of over 50 years. Sons: Troy, Greg, Mike (Kim) and six grandchildren: Danielle, Madison, Siena, Robbie, Derek & Trey. Brothers: Richard and Doug. He is preceded in death by his parents Norval F. Allen & Mary S. Roninger-Allen, his sister Margery Allen-Wright and one granddaughter, Rhianna Rae Allen. Dennis spent his childhood in the Denver/Wheatridge area. He graduated from Wheatridge High School and continued his education at both CU and CSU focused on mechanical engineering. Dennis was a self proclaimed "machinery doctor". In fact there was not anything mechanical that Dennis could not build or fix. In November of 1963 Dennis met the love of his life, Trudie Watkins. They had their first date on Valentine's Day 1964. They were married on December 10, 1965. Dennis and Trudie were soulmates and best friends! They loved life, and each other. He moved with his family to Fort Collins/LaPorte area in 1968 where he worked designing and building weather instrumentation through grants from CSU and the National Weather service. He later move to Ideal Cement/LafargeHolcim to become the Maintenance Superintendent. Dennis was very active with his sons growing up. Having achieved Eagle Scout as a teen he was the LaPorte area Cub Scout leader for several years and heavily involved in Boy Scouts as his sons grew up. Dennis played softball himself and coached Little League Baseball teams for the LaPorte area kids. He truly loved working with and coaching kids. Dennis was truly a "son of the Rocky Mountains". Being born on the front range, he spent his boyhood roaming the Flattops & Marvine Lakes, Zirkel, Rainbow & Roxy Ann lakes, and other Colorado Wilderness trails, back packing, fly fishing and camping. One of his favorite vacations was our annual "Allen Family camping trip". He love introducing his sons and later in life his grandchildren to the favorite fishing and camping spots of his youth. He was also an avid skier and spent many hours on the slopes of Colorado teaching his sons to all be excellent skiers as well. He loved his days trying to keep pace with his grandsons on the ski slopes. In addition, Dennis was an accomplished musician having mastered the trumpet, french horn, piano and guitar. Throughout his life he often told stories of his piano lessons starting at the age of four. He expressed himself eloquently thru his music. The guitar became his passion in later life and he taught many a young person to play the guitar including all three of his sons. He passed along his love of music to all of his descendants. Dennis was also an avid motorcycle rider. After their children were raised he and Trudie toured the United States and Canada both as a couple and with various friends on his BMW touring bike. They made numerous trips to Alberta & British Columbia and the summer their first grandchildren were born they traveled from Fort Collins to Key West. Their last foray into Canada, was as recently as summer 2015 when they traveled to Toronto. In his retirement years, Dennis also worked in engineering and design support with Allen Bros Custom Motorcycles. In 1995 Dennis and Trudie became involved with the Maine Coon Cat Breed. They had a small hobby/breeding program (Trutails Maine Coon Cats) and until his death he was involved in the Cat Fanciers Association and the Maine Coon Cat Breed Council. Dennis & Trudie showed their cats to National and International wins. Dennis donated many hours to both organizations producing local cat shows and working tirelessly for the Maine Coon Cat breed council. He loved his cats, and they returned his love with hours of purrs and head butts. Dennis was also a ten year cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with head/neck cancer in April 2007. He endured aggressive chemo and radiation throughout the next several months. At the time of his death he remained "cancer free", however the damage to his heart from the chemotherapy was likely a part of the reason he suffered an aortic dissection which resulted in his death 2 hours later. Dennis was lucky in that he was both mentally healthy and physically active until the end. His death was very fast, and he did not suffer. Trudie, Mike and Kim were with him at the time of his death. A celebration of Dennis' life will be planned at a later date. Through Dennis' strong spirit and a lifetime of wonderful memories he will live on.

Tributes

Dennis James Allen

July 19, 1942 - February 28, 2017