More detail on this person: What can you say about Allen Naille? He's a character, bigger than life, too much, on the move, rough edged, long winded_. First the details. Allen was born in Pensacola, Florida to Richard A. Naille II and June Laager while his dad served as an aviator in the Navy. He grew up in Springfield Ohio and attended Wittenberg University until going into the Army where he flew helicopters, including one year in Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart, as well as: the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. In Vietnam Allen also had extensive exposure to Agent Orange which ultimately contributed to his demise. When he returned to the States he married his wife Carol (Cox) on June 16, 1968. When Carol's mother met Allen she said: "Life will never be dull with Allen", and she was right on. Allen graduated from Michigan State University in 1973 with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and he and Carol moved to the Grand Canyon where he worked his way up from running the transportation desk to President of Amfac. He realized his life-long dream of "being a General Manager of a motel in a National Park" after stints in just about all the jobs in the industry including kitchen staff where he learned to cook and developed a love of fine food. Allen retired in 1996 but even in retirement he served as an advisor on the Navajo Nation Tourism Board for 40 years until his demise. Allen is survived by his wife of 54 years, Carol, sister Linda (Shelley) a niece and nephew. Along his journey of life Allen developed a love of old cars (mostly British that didn't run particularly well), raced Morgan three wheelers rally cars and motorcycles. Allen headed up the revitalization of the Arizona Governor's Cup Rallye, long time member of the Arizona Porsche Club (he loved Porches of all stripes), while also serving on the Arizona Town Hall, and Northern Arizona University Advisory Board. What really defined Allen were his motorcycle travels. Allen and Carol toured Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, China, North and South America from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to the tip of South America, and much of the US and Canada. Allen was a travel planning fanatic and his close friends got to join in many of his marvelous adventures. He always knew the best places to eat (Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride) and the most scenic way to get there. Whether it was Baja Mexico's roadblocks, the Alcan Highway's frost heaves, a freezing naked dip (Polar Bear Plunge) in the Arctic Ocean off Prudhoe Bay, the Canadian Maritime Provinces hurricane wind and rain, New Zealand's waterfalls, or a day ride up to the Grand Canyon for lunch, you could always count on either a grand adventure or a very long tale of herculean feats, and sometimes both. Yes, Allen had edges on him, you don't accomplish as much as he did without developing some rough edges, but they were pretty much ignored because there was so much about him to love. Those of us that have known Allen for years will miss those stories even though we know them well. They had the Allen flair for pushing the actual into the imaginal. We'll miss his laughter, his sense of humor and his adventurous spirit. We will miss his adventurous spirit very much indeed: His eagerness to go anywhere anytime on a motorcycle. That spirit took us to so many places of awe and beauty we probably would not have otherwise seen. All of those wonderful memories that are attached to so many place, Allen, every time those memories arise, we will think of you. It was in fact "never dull" being your friend and we miss you terribly.
This information was last updated 09/01/2022
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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