Ward Allen

1938 - 2023

Ward Allen
October 4, 1938 - April 25, 2023
Ward Courtnay Allen passed away peacefully on the morning of April, 25, 2023. He suffered from a long illness and fought hard to stay with us until he was called home by the Lord. Ward was born and raised in Oakland/Lake Merritt and graduated from UC Berkley. After a short stint as an Oakland police officer, Ward worked for the Santa Fe Railroad during college. It was there that he developed a love for railroads that continued later in life when he helped create an organization of kindred recreational railroaders to focus on preserving and protecting historical railroad corridors. Using vintage track inspection rail cars in this quest, Ward and his group targeted a series of local, shortline railroads for their educational, charitable, and recreational values returning life to otherwise dead and unused rail corridors. Ward enlisted in the Air Force Reserves as a pilot and was activated during the Viet Nam war. After he was honorably discharged, Ward worked as a lobbyist for the Teamsters Union until his retirement in 1997. Never one to sit around, Ward then returned to school and earned a Masters Degree and a Teaching Credential from Sacramento State University. He had become concerned about men and women who were released from California's prison system without job skills to help them live productive lives. So Ward and friends opened the first of several vocational programs that continue to this day to help those in need. Although Ward eventually became bedridden, his mind never stopped planning ways to help the less fortunate. Ward is survived by his wife Kathleen and stepson Patrick Polk and many, many friends.
It was said of Ward that he was "doing the work of Angels".