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:
08/31/2024
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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