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Michael Allen Obituary
Michael Steven, 60, of Fair Lawn, NJ passed away on Thursday, December 24, 2015. He was known to many as Superman, an avid animal lover, a genuinely funny guy who could fix just about anything. Mike's favorite saying was "You can't fix stupid!" He wasn't afraid to die, he had made his peace with God and within himself. For those lucky enough to have been closest to him these last few years, you never would have guessed he was ill much of the time. He never stopped working, or helping others. We know he will live on through all the good deeds he has done and many laughs we shared. Mr. Allen was a parishioner of St. Anne R.C. Church in Fair Lawn. Michael was also a member of Elks lodge #60 of Elmwood Park and Fort Lee Volunteer Fire Department # 4. He was an operating engineer with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 in Springfield, NJ for more than 22 years.
Loving and devoted father of Christopher Allen and wife Trisha of Fair Lawn. Cherished grandfather of Victoria and Gianna. Beloved 11 year companion of Diane Fama also of Fair Lawn. Dear brother of the late James Allen and surviving wife Lori of Denville. Loving great nephew of Agnes Stenek of Saddle Brook. Adored uncle of Brian and Jason. Best friend of John McCloskey of Fort Lee. He is also survived by loyal canine companions Olive & Houdini.
The family will receive relatives and friends Monday, December 28, 2015, 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Vander Plaat-Caggiano Funeral Home, 13-31 Saddle River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ, 201-797-3500. A funeral mass is planned for Tuesday, December 29, 2015, 10:30 AM at St. Anne R.C. Church, 15-05 St. Anne Street, Fair Lawn, NJ. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Fairview.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Michael to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 310, White Plains, NJ 10605, S.T.A.R.T. II, Save the Animals Rescue Team, P.O. Box 177, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407 or Palisades Fire Company # 4 Memorial Scholarship Fund P.O. Box 3148, Fort Lee, NJ 07024 would be appreciated. For additional information, please visit www.vpfairlawn.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Michael Allen
Debbie lodato
December 21, 2024
Mike cant believe its been 10 years you left us. Still miss you. I miss your funny jokes and busting jons chops. I tell cami about u chris does too. He brings u up from time to time. I know ur watching over us keep giving us signs. Say hi to my brother for me. We miss you only the good die young. Haply bday in heaven
Ed Marrone
December 21, 2024
Mike, I can't believe it's 10 years since you're gone! Think of you often and miss you my friend! Rest with the good Lord Mike! Heaven is a much better place since you entered it!
Linda Busch
December 21, 2024
Lived next door to Mike for 3 years. Best handyman ever AND nicest, kindest best neighbor watching out for me (recently widowed), daughter AND my aging parents across town. EVERYONE loved Mike and it helped my daughter to have such a funny man next door. RIP. Love to the family.
Edward Marrone
December 21, 2023
Mike, I think about you often. You are missed my friend!
Diane Fama
December 22, 2020
Olive, Dean and I miss you every day. We know you’ve been by to visit cause I find the pennies you leave. You’d be pleased to see what was done to your house! It’s beautiful inside and I hope a nice family buys it and has many happy years there! I can’t believe it’s been five years this week that you left us but I know you are in a better place and I take comfort in knowing you are watching over us from above. Merry Christmas in heaven!
Debbie Lodato
December 22, 2020
Mike we still
Miss you everyday! We know u are watching over us. You will never b forgotten chris still says stuff about u and tells his sister about u❤
Ed Marrone
December 21, 2020
Mike, you were the best. Think about you often, especially when it snows! You are missed my friend.
Debbie Lodato
December 21, 2019
There not a day that goes by that i dont think of you. We are still under instruction on second floor if you were here it would have been done already. Wish u could have met our cami I would have loved her chris still talkes about u. May you rip and out of pain we love u and miss u❤
The Allen Family
December 27, 2017
Keep shining bright
Allen Family
December 27, 2017
Happy belated birthday! Hope you got the balloons we sejt up to you. Christmas was hard for us, especially the girls. It will never be the same but hopefully one day we will come to peace with that. We love and miss you terribly!
To the moon & back, always & forever.
Love you Dad/Grandpa
Allen Family
November 30, 2016
Happy 1st Birthday in heaven Dad/Grandpa
Victoria woke up and realized she wont be making her phone call to you, so you both can sing Happy Birthday each other. She said she will sing to you when we bring you flowers.
We miss you so much!
To the moon & back, always & forever xo
Love,
Chris, Trisha, Victoria & Gianna
The Allen family
March 5, 2016
Dad/Grandpa,
We miss you SO much! Cannot believe it has been over 2 months. It feels like yesterday you were here but sometimes, it also feels like years. Is that possible? We really need you. Times are very tough right now and we know if you were here, it wouldn't be this way. Hope you can hear us. We talk to you everyday and hope you can help guide us. Aunt Agnes is with you now. We know you are all together, having a good time. The girls still cry everyday, missing you. Time doesn't help. It feels like it gets harder and harder, everyday.
Thank you for the messages you sent us, at the thing we had for you. Feels like we got almost all our questions, answered. We will forever be grateful, for all our memories we have with you. Love you to the moon & back, always and forever! Rest in paradise.
Linda Busch Somach
January 23, 2016
When I first moved next door to Mike, it was 3 months after my husband died. I was a young(ish) widow with a 12 year old girl. On a day like this, Mike was a life saver...not just to me but to the entire neighborhood and anyone who needed help! The town of Fair Lawn should have PAID him for all the times he dug out dangerous intersections and messes left behind by town plows! He could have covered half of Fair Lawn with just 2 snow blowers (and one only half running like mine). As time went on, he helped my aging parents across town dig out MANY times. He fixed my snow blower and taught me how to use it; but I never did my own snow removal because a Superman Snowman covered always took care of us! I still don't have to do my own snow removal! My now 19 year old daughter uses that same old half broken snow blower that Mike fixed because he took the time to teach her too! We miss you Mike! You would have looked like a Superman Snowman today, clearing snow far and wide, but with a smile on your face as you helped anyone you could. Lots of love to the family..thinking of Mike and all of you today.
The Allen Family
January 22, 2016
shine bright like a diamond
The Allen Family
January 22, 2016
Dad,
Cant believe it is going to be 1 month soon. Feels like just yesterday, we were talking and laughing. We miss you SO much! We need you to look after us, at this time in need. We love you to the moon & back, always & forever xoxo
The Allen Family
January 14, 2016
Still hurts. We miss you so much! Love you to the moon & back, always & froever
Chris Black
January 13, 2016
Mike was truly a great guy! My husband met him at their job in Hackensack in the late 80's and Mike spent countless hours at our house in Hackettstown in the early 90's helping us update our home built in 1820. I can still picture him helping John lift a balcony rail they built in our driveway to our 2nd floor deck that had to weigh a couple hundred pounds... effortlessly. He reminded me of a gentle giant....strong, helpful, gentle, and kind! We attended several 4th of July picnics at his home in Fair Lawn, but lost touch over the years. I am truly saddened by the news of his passing, but will always remember him with the greatest respect and fondness for his caring character. Chris, I'm sure you don't remember us..... but please know that you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers!
January 7, 2016
R.I.P. Gone too soon. You are always on my mind.
The Allen Family
January 7, 2016
For a moment all the world was right. How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
The Allen Family
January 7, 2016
Dad,
Thank you for answering our prayer the other night! We know you are watching over us. Please continue to show signs because it is teaching the girls, that heaven is for real! Everyday, gets harder. We miss you dearly. Our memories will last forever and thank you for that! Love and miss you! xoxo
Debbie Lodato
January 6, 2016
Mike a day doesnt go by that i dont think of u. I miss our morning phone calls. The boys r missing u as well chris still see the truck and says mike resting i miss mike nic as well. We will always remember u u will never be forgotten the neighborhood is not the same without u. U were a great friend and part if our famiy as well.
Love debbie jon chris and nic xoxo
to happier times, my love
Diane, Olive & Dean
January 5, 2016
Dearest Mike
No one knew you better than I did. I feel lucky to have had you in my life for the last 11+ years. I remember the first time I met you during a February snowstorm. You were outside shoveling in short sleeves. My beagle made me walk by your house for almost 6 months before you asked me out on a date. You were the most kind, funny, handsome, wonderful man on earth. Everyone loved you for so many reasons. Thank you for teaching me that's it's better to give than receive. You always put everyone else's needs first before your own. Although you had been sick for a long time, you brought so much pleasure and laugher to so many lives, your legacy will live on. It was an honor to be the love of your life, and to have shared the very special relationship we had, and so few ever get to experience. I keep finding pennies on the ground and little reminders of you everywhere. The pups and I miss you, the house is so quiet now that you are gone. I love you with all my heart. The dogs still sit in the window waiting for you to come home.
We miss you so so so so much Grandpa!
Victoria and Gianna Allen
January 5, 2016
Diane Fama
January 3, 2016
My love still burns strong for you!
The Allen family
January 3, 2016
Xoxo
The Allen
January 3, 2016
Dad,
Still seems like a dream. People say it gets easier. It is getting harder and harder for us. I hope you can hear us. We talk to you daily,the girls light your candle in the morning and blow it out at night when going to bed. Noone can fill this hole in our lives. We just hope it gets bearable. You are not here with us but forever on our minds and in our hearts. You were right, everyone knows you! The girls cry everyday wishing you were still here and Gianna cries herself to sleep everynight, with you on her mind. Wish we took more pictures. We love you always and forever, to the moon and back. Gone but never forgotten. We will make you proud.
Love
All of the Allen's
Debbie Taylor Kanabar
December 31, 2015
Mike was friends with my dad Ray Taylor and they are now together. He was a kind man that was always very helpful to my parents. My prayers are with his family and friends.
BJ GRASER
December 29, 2015
As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one certainly personified Mike. The mere sight of him made you start laughing and that was even before he opened his mouth!!
He was like this from a small child. His mother was a crossing guard and no sooner would she see him approaching she too would not immediately burst out laughing.
No matter what he did, she could never, ever get angry or be mad at him.
Few people in this world are truly capable of bestowing the title of one of a kind but Michael certainly embodied every bit of that term.
There was nor will there ever be anyone else like him. Mike marched to the beat of his own drum which is what set him so far apart from everyone else.
There were never any rules in his life. Everything he did and said stemmed from the enormity of his heart.
Never serious a day in his life which not only made him so funny but incredibly kind and genuine. There was nothing superficial about him. Can or will any of us ever forget that smile and infallible laughter?
I grew up with Mike and his brother Jimmy and new thier parents. As a child Mike taunted and tortured mercilessly and I adored every minute of it. He had such a special place in his heart for every single person in his life and he went out of his way to always acknowledge you.
And then . . . when we grew UP and became of legal drinking age, OMG things got even funnier. He was the best in every single thing he ever did. A son, a brother, a father wife and the absolute best friend you could ever want. He loved life and made everyone else's so much happier just being a part of it.
As you go through this difficult time remember Mike is NOT gone nor will he ever be. He is just NOT here. No matter where you go and what you do he will always, always be with all of us.
Juergen Hofheinz
December 29, 2015
God Bless to a great guy! We will all miss you.
Bob V
December 28, 2015
I knew Mike from High School in Fort Lee, and although we didn't know each other well, I had just moved here and was a quiet and shy kid, but he always went out of his way to be kind to me, and I will always remember him for that.
Rest in Peace Mike
Deborah Chiappane O'Prandy
December 28, 2015
This earth will not be the same without his humor...although a giant he was as gentle as a teddy bear. Many fond memories I have.
December 28, 2015
met the man once... and he was funny! just had that great quality. Peace to all.
Carol
Edward Marrone
December 27, 2015
Rest in Peace Michael
Edward Marrone
December 27, 2015
Mike, you were a good neighbor, a better friend and most of all the best person I had the honor of knowing. I used to call you "St. Michael of 35th St." because you were always ready to help somebody who needed help. Now my friend you're with the rest of the Saints in heaven.You will be missed. Rest in Peace Michael.
Ken and Corinne Peters
December 27, 2015
Our prayers and sympathy to you all.
Ron Orso
December 27, 2015
May God grant you and your family peace.
maryann
December 27, 2015
I feel so incredibly lucky to have known him. He had a one of a kind voice and always made me and my family laugh whenever we saw him. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. We will miss him driving around in his red pick up truck. Rest in Peace Mike. <3
The Allen family
December 27, 2015
The good die young
The Allen family
December 27, 2015
Dad,
We miss you so much. We will always cherish every single moment we shared together. We love you to the moon and back, always and forever.
Love,
Chris and Trisha
Grandpa,
Is heaven beautiful? Why did God have to take you away from us? Can you see us? We said good night to you last night when we looked at the stars. Did you hear us? We miss you so so so so sooo much! We will remember all the silly things we did. We love you Grandpa and never forget that.
Love
Victoria and Gianna
Christian Cahill
December 27, 2015
You were a very good man Mike......... miss you already......
Richard Choromanski
December 27, 2015
Mike may you rest in peace and I remember all the fun we had with your family. You were a great guy and surly be missed by many of us from Fort Lee NJ.
Debbie Lodato
December 27, 2015
Mike was a great man will never be forgotten! Always there when u need him great heart. We will miss u rip we love u!
Josh Pollack
December 27, 2015
A true honest person who never stopped living
the allen family
December 27, 2015
Dad,
We miss you so much! We will always cherish every single second, we had with you. The good die young! We love you To the moon and back, always and forever. Xoxo
Love,
Chris and Trisha
Grandpa,
What does heaven look like? Can you see us? We miss you so so so so sooo much. Why did God have to take you home? We say good night to you every night in the sky when we see a star. Mommy and daddy said we are going to name a star just for you! That is very special and so are you. We love you Grandpa.
Love
Victoria and Gianna
Charlie and Marie Fama
December 27, 2015
RIP Mike. You were a wonderful addition to our family and a precious person in Diane's life. We will miss you every day. God bless you and Diane. Love.
Barb Main
December 27, 2015
My deepest condolences. Mike was a great man. Kind and compassionate. He will be missed.
Linda Busch
December 27, 2015
My 12 year old daughter and I moved next door to Mike 3 months after I was widowed. We lived there 3.5 years. In our time of grief, he was a father figure to my daughter and the best friend and neighbor a recent widow could ask for. Later, he became a friend and handyman for my sister,and aging parents. He was a great reminder of the resiliency of people whether overcoming personal problems or fighting through sickness. He'll be the funniest angel in heaven but he was also one here one on earth. My deepest condolences go to his family, Dianne and closest friends. May he RIP with his brother, Jimmy, and my late husband.
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