John Vincent Allen III

1985 - 2023

John Vincent Allen III
John Vincent Allen III, known to many as Jack, was born in Manhattan on October 4, 1985. Raised in Darien, CT, he was class valedictorian and captain of both the lacrosse and wrestling teams at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA.
John attended Washington & Lee University and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He was commissioned as a Marine Corps Second Lieutenant and served two deployments as a Ground Intelligence Officer in southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan. John honorably resigned from the Marine Corps as a Captain in the 1st Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA.
John attended Columbia Law School and graduated with highest honors. He later clerked for esteemed federal judges both at the Eastern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City. Along with his clerkships, he worked at the law firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Petrillo Klein & Boxer. He also served as a full-time legal volunteer to the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020.
As accomplished as he was, John would never mention any of his many awards, achievements, or successes. Instead, he preferred to spend his time talking with friends and family. Unless it was funny, he had no interest in mindless chitchat. He wanted to talk instead about what can make life meaningful: politics, justice, comedy, religion, art, music, history, literature, and philosophy. He wanted to know what you thought and why you thought that way. He wanted to make you laugh. And he did.
His wit and timing were unrivaled. So were his dumb practical jokes. He could always quote the funniest parts of movies and shows. His laugh was goofy and contagious. His wide circle of friends -- made from childhood to practicing law -- always wanted to be near him at any gathering. John was magnetic, the brightest light in any room. Words cannot do justice to the joy and laughter he could conjure out of nothing.
A lifelong Yankees fan, John always looked forward to sitting in the right field bleachers whenever he could make it up to the stadium. He loved to read, and his apartment was filled with hundreds of page-turners, from Nietzsche to Nabokov. John also loved to debate controversial topics, and he won every argument he ever had -- even when he was wrong.
He leaves behind Kay, a wife he loved and adored, of New York City; his parents John and Sondra Allen of Clinton, CT; brother Ted and his wife Marisa Allen, niece Lucy, all in Pittsburgh; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins -- and countless friends living all over the world.
His sudden passing leaves a void in all that knew him. He will be missed and forever loved.
A memorial will be held on Saturday, November 11th at 2 p.m. in Manhattan. Please email JohnAllenMemorial@gmail.com for more details. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Doctors Without Borders, an organization John was proud to support.