It was easy to tell if Allen liked you: he’d be busting your chops. Al loved people and more than anything bringing a smile to everyone’s face. He was a constant jokester, especially if it meant playfully embarrassing his kids, crashing his chair into just about everything in stores and jokingly claiming elder abuse. For years he worked at the Thomson Lamination Company, commuting via his walk down main street, spreading joy as he went along. You’d hear people constantly calling out to Coach Al. He’d coached baseball and football for many years in Fairview and Maple Shade. Building great players was just part of his plan: Coach Al molded boys into great men. Of course, he’d find his real calling late in life as a grandfather, baking cookies with his favorite girl, Cara. His younger years found him serving our nation in the Navy. He’d serve a multitude of roles as he sailed and saw the world; everywhere from the equator to the arctic. He said his saddest day is when he transitioned to civilian life. As a dad he had no qualms about his love of his children: always an “I love you!” followed by being pulled in for the warmest hug. He never missed an event or one of their games. He cheered for Green Bay; so overwhelmed to be at Lambeau Field that he kissed the ground and got to do the “Lambeau Leap.” He loved the sound of everything from Johnny Mathis to Queen to AC/DC and even BackStreet Boys and In Sync to appease his daughters. On his T.V. you’d find MASH, Blue Bloods, Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon and if Brett was by his side, he’d be watching Polar Express. Al spent most of his life living in Maple Shade and Fairview.
He'd meet a pretty sailor serving on a tugboat; Allen and Kathleen would share 42-years together. He was blessed by 6 children, Chris, Kevin, Leslie, Kyle, Tyler and Brett and by his granddaughter, Cara and he is survived by his sister, Sandra Winters.
Come celebrate 67 great years Thursday December 11, noon to 2 p.m. at Mark Tilghman Funeral Home, 38 North Forklanding Road, Maple Shade where there will be a 2 p.m. service.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
38 N. Forklanding Road, Maple Shade, NJ 08052-2630

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