Allan Overland

1924 - 2021

Allan Overland
December 15, 1924 - May 17, 2021
Gig Harbor, Washington - On May 17, 2021, Allan Leroy Overland, 96, passed away in the house he and his family had lived in for 60 years.
Born on December 15, 1924, he not only remembered the Great Depression but Civil War veterans who marched in Tacoma on Memorial Day. On the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he and his brother Robert signed up for the US Navy: and in World War II, he became a decorated vet flying a thousand hours in the Black Cat Squadron in the South Pacific.
Born with the last name "Carson," he took the name Overland in honor of his beloved stepfather, Kris Overland, a carpenter who came over from Norway and married Allan's mother, Alice, a schoolteacher.
After the War, Allan took advantage of odd jobs and the G.I. Bill to put himself through Pacific Lutheran University (then Pacific Lutheran College) and the University of Washington Law School. There he met Betty Oke, a Canadian co-ed, on a blind date. It was a date that lasted 70 years, until she passed away in 2019, after the two of them raised five children and four grandchildren. In all that time, they were rarely apart for more than a day.
During an extraordinarily long career, he had many distinctions. He argued cases before the Washington Supreme Court, was president of the ACLU in Pierce County, served as a judge, and was admitted to the United States Supreme Court Bar Association. But he was most proud of the "Inns of Court" Award, given to him by his fellow judges and lawyers, for furthering courtesy, chivalry, and comradeship in the practice of the law. "Let us do as advocates do in Law," he would say, quoting Shakespeare, "strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends."
In March 1976, he represented a pod of killer whales in Puget Sound and, using the Marine Mammal Protection Act, ended the capture of whales in North America forever. He represented native Americans, auto mechanics, and exotic car dealers, giving him a chance to drive the car raced by Paul Newman, as well as Dustin Hoffman's Alfa Romeo from "The Graduate."
He was universally known for his sense of humor, which after 96 years never quit.
He is survived by children Mark, Brian, Martha Ann, and Allan Jr, as well as Allan's wife, Vera. His youngest son Colin had passed away in 2006. He is also survived by grandchildren Matthew, Katelyn, Aaron, and Nina, and nephew Ron.
His happiest times were in Maui, where he'd play tennis, hike craters, explore islands, go scuba-diving off tropical reefs, and come back at the end of the day to make Pina Coladas, while wife Betty made gourmet meals. He was a man for many seasons.