Craig Carlisle Allen

Craig Carlisle Allen passed away on October 22nd, 2024 after courageously fighting a two decade battle against sarcoidosis.

A devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend, Craig spent his 64 1/2 years ensuring everyone around him knew how much he loved and cherished them.

Craig was born on April 26, 1960, in Grand Rapids, MI, to Mel and Joyce Allen and spent his early years perfecting the art of charming himself out of trouble with his three siblings, Jeff, Pam, and Cindy. He moved to Charlotte, NC in middle school which ignited his love of ACC basketball. Craig spent his time in secondary school excelling everywhere from the classroom to the cross-country course to the stage. Outside of his encyclopedic knowledge of historical events, sub-16-minute 5Ks, and starring roles as Snoopy and Oliver, Craig decided that one musical talent wasn't enough and was selected to attend Governor's School for both string bass and vocal performance.

As an AB Duke Scholar, Craig realized his Carolina Blue Austin Healey Sprite might not have been the best choice in high school and quickly transitioned to a Racing Green MGB. Craig loved every bit of his time at Duke; engaging history classes, an internship with the Santa Fe opera, a summer semester spent at Oxford, socials with his SAE brothers, and cheering on the Blue Devils in Cameron. But most importantly, Craig loved Lisa. After an introduction from Nancy (Reed) Petrash in 1981, Craig and Lisa went from being dates at fraternity parties to getting married in Duke Chapel in 1983.

Their 41 years of marriage were spent raising Sarah and Sean (along with a collection of neurotic cats, stubborn Bernese Mountain Dogs, and the occasional short-lived fish), creating stunning gardens, visiting and hosting friends from all over the world, sharing their love of education with their children, students, friends, and colleagues, and building lives full of love and laughter.

As a father, Craig was an avid cross-country supporter (he always headed to the 2-mile mark, exactly where his cheers and annoyingly accurate guidance were needed), essay reviewer (we never saw more red pen on a 6th grade paper), occasional pianist (you'd frequently walk downstairs to him playing The Hundred Acre Wood), giver of endless Christmas coupons (that showed off both his impressive artistic skills and procrastination techniques), purveyor of sarcastic jokes (he was a huge proponent of The Three Stooges and Monty Python), thorough travel planner (we never missed a museum or national park), gifted singer (whether it was carols at Christmas or James Taylor on a road trip, getting to listen to Craig sing was a pleasure), and a passionate educator (in the classroom, on the basketball court, and behind the college counseling desk, he was always eager to share knowledge and learn from others).

Craig spent over four decades teaching, advising, and coaching students from around the world. He started teaching at Enloe High School, creating engaging history lessons and developing student athletes on the cross-country and track teams. He began his career in the college admissions space at his alma mater, Duke University, in the admissions office where he shared his love of the Blue Devils with prospective students before transitioning to the other side of the desk serving as Director of College Counseling at secondary schools. He brought compassion, support, integrity, and candor to students, parents, and colleagues, during an otherwise stressful and confusing process. He consistently challenged the norm of the complex college selection process, asking tough questions and finding new ways to improve the experience for students. His honest approach and beautifully-crafted recommendations aided hundreds of high school seniors in finding the best match for their college experience. Craig also devoted himself to guiding new colleagues in the college advising space, coming back from each conference with new friends and wonderful memories of his cherished professional community.

Craig is preceded in death by his son, Thomas Allen, father, Mel Allen, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Maddie, Arthur, and Bella, and a hoard of cats that found their way into the Allen family home (and Craig's lap, much to his chagrin) over the years. He is survived by his wife, Lisa Allen, son, Sean Allen, daughter and her husband Sarah and Matt Hiller, mother, Joyce Allen, sister and her husband, Pam and Manny Diliberto, sister, Cindy Allen, brother, Jeff Allen, and nephew, Jeffrey Allen, as well as a wonderfully kind and supportive extended family.

Per his request to have a party with pints and pals, we will be celebrating Craig's life at Vicious Fishes Brewery (10 Old Apex Rd, Cary, NC 27511) on Monday, November 25, 2024 from 4-7pm. We have chosen this date because both Sarah and Sean will be in town from the UK and Japan respectively. As most of Craig's friends are scattered around the world and this is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, we completely understand that many will be unable to attend in person and ask that if you aren't able to join us, you simply raise a glass while thinking of a fond memory with Craig. He would love that.

In remembrance of Craig' life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (www.stopsarcoidosis.org).

(Please forgive any grammatical errors above, Craig was always the family editor, correcting everything from college essays to texts. Yes, we did procrastinate while writing this to honor him.)