More detail on this person: Complications from
heart surgery.biography: Following is news article
from Fort Worth Star-Telgram, 12/15/05: This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
10/23/2024
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In 1949, when 17-year-old Patricia Wright met
Joseph D.Allan, he didn't own a car or even have a
driver's license. Instead, he owned an airplane.
"It got to the point where he couldn't afford both
the plane and me. So he decided to keep me," said
Patricia Wright Allan, now 73. "But he always
loved to fly."
After almost 56 years of marriage and more than 50
years in aviation, Mr. Allan, of Bedford, died
Saturday from complications of heart bypass
surgery in October. He was 76.
Born in Ohio, Mr. Allan took pilot lessons when he
was 15 and did his first solo flight on his 16th
birthday. From there, it was a short jump to a
piloting career in the military and later as a
civilian. He did two tours in Vietnam. His oldest
son, Michael Allan, an air traffic controller,
served in Vietnam during the same time. Once, he
helped his father land. "That's the first time I
ever told my dad what to do, and he did it,"
Michael Allan often told his family members.
Later, Mr. Allan was assigned to the "Texas White
House, " otherwise known as President Lyndon
Johnson's ranch in Johnson City. Because Air
Force One could not land on the small airstrip,
Allan and other pilots flew Johnson and his family
by helicopter after the plane landed at an
airport, Mr. Allan's family said. To keep from
endangering the president, Mr. Allan was not
allowed to tell anyone what he did, his family
said. "But Daddy was always larger than life, so
no one outshined him in our eyes," said his
daughter, Yvonne Allan-Abker of Alabama.
Mr. Allan retired in October 1972 from the Army as
a lieutenant colonel and joined the Federal
Aviation Administration. Later, he wrote articles
for national aviation journals and taught
seminars, his family said. "The phrase that comes
to mind when I think of him is 'professional with
a commitment to excellence,'" said Mr. Allan's
youngest son, John Allan, a manager of the
engineering and technical service department for
the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air
Force Base in Colorado. "He always encouraged
you to be better. If it wasn't for him encouraging
me in my early 20s when I was an airplane
mechanic, I might still be doing that." Mr. Allan
is also survived by his other children, Thomas,
Paul, Lucienne Allan, Jeannette Glaza and
Madelaine Howard, plus his mother, Laurette Allan,
his sister, Claire Rastetter, 12 grandchildren and
two stepgrandchildren.
Service: A memorial Mass is set for 1:30
p.m.Saturday at St. Michael Catholic Church, 3713
Harwood Road in Bedford.
From: Pat Richardson