Robert Allen

1940 - 2020

Robert Allen

Appleton - Robert Allen entered into eternal life with his Savior Jesus Christ on 11/11/2020. Bob was born in Iron Mountain, Michigan on December 1, 1940 to Boyce and Margaret Steindorf Allen. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Karen Langlois Allen, his son David (Charlene) Allen and daughter Dianne Kurtz (Robert Borer), his favorite oldest granddaughter Lindsey Kurtz of Eugene, OR. and his favorite youngest granddaughter Kristina Kurtz, of Minneapolis, MN. Also surviving are his brother Douglas Allen, brother-in-law David (Ann) Langlois, sister-in-law Joy Fregerio. He was preceded in death by son-in-law, Jon Kurtz, brother-in-law Fred Fregerio, sister-in-law Joyce Allen.

Bob married his high school sweetheart, Karen Langlois, on February 6, 1960. Bob had his eye on Karen since he was in first grade and she in kindergarten at Roosevelt School in Kingsford, MI. They started dating when she was a sophomore and he was a junior in high school.

Bob earned an Associate Degree in Electrical Power from Milwaukee School of Engineering in April 1961, and in 1979 graduated from UW Oshkosh with a BBA degree in Business Administration. He was employed at WE Energies for almost 41 years beginning in Milwaukee in April 1961 as an engineering technician designing power lines, then transferring to the Appleton planning department in the fall of 1963. The last 10 years were the best years of his career because of the great people in this group.

He loved traveling to almost all the western national parks; his favorite was Rocky Mountain. He enjoyed three train trips to the West coast. Bob and Karen were accompanied by Karen's sister Joy and husband Fred Fregerio on many of their road trips, especially along the east coast.

Bob's Church family at Faith Lutheran was important to him. He enjoyed the Senior Bible study every Tuesday. He was with his friends learning about the love of Jesus. He also enjoyed and was a willing helper in the monthly senior events which usually included eating.

Sports were a big part of Bob's life: he was, of course, a Packer, Badger and Brewer fan. He participated in sports his whole life: basketball in high school and volleyball leagues, and pickup games at the YMCA until he was almost 50 years old. He ran his first marathon at age 51 but missed qualifying for Boston by one minute with a time of 3 hours and 31 minutes.

Bob's favorite time of the year was the fall. He loved hunting for partridge with his son David. They walked many miles every year through the swamps, over the granite bluffs, and through the brush. He did not shoot many birds but scared the dickens out of many of them. He also enjoyed deer hunting.

His favorite activities after he and Karen retired in 2002 were playing bridge and reading novels. Bob was a voracious reader, usually 100 or more novels a year. He usually had a book with him whenever he left the house, especially if he might have to wait for someone or something. He loved playing duplicate bridge with his friends at the Fox Valley Bridge Club. He also loved to cook and to bake bread. He did most of the family cooking for many years.

He will be dearly missed by his wife and family.

Please direct memorials to Faith Lutheran Church Radio and TV Ministry.