Obituary of Thomas Hershey Allen

Thomas H. Allen passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at the age of 81. Tom was born in Quincy, IL to Verne James Allen and Martha Ellen Hershey Allen. He grew up in Roodhouse, IL. After high school graduation, Tom attended Blackburn Jr. College in IL and later graduated from St. Louis University in 1958 with a Masters degree in Physics.

Tom and Margaret met each other in St. Louis, while in school. They were married in Mt. Pleasant, IA, November 30, 1957. He worked for McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, MO from 1959-1977 in the research unit for NASA where he developed spacecraft window coating processes that were used to protect spacecrafts from debris. In 1977 he was invited to work for OCLI/JDSU in Santa Rosa, CA. His work in the research department there focused on methods for depositing coatings. He designed and built a calorimeter, the only one in existence at the time, to measure laser light absorption of coatings. In 1997 he was granted a patent for the thin film coating system he invented.

Tom enjoyed family time, woodworking, astronomy, gardening, reading, and classical music. He was also an avid collector of tools and industrial material samples. Endlessly curious about how things worked, he enjoyed tinkering and asking questions. He was a planner and had an appreciation for both art and science.

He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Margaret; children, Mary Allen Hamilton (Cris), Tucson, AZ; Geoffrey Allen (Jennifer), Encinitas, CA; Laura Allen Johnson (Joe) Seattle, WA; four grandchildren, Jessica Drewry, Dustin Drewry (Stephanie), Julia Johnson, and Katelyn Johnson; sister, Sarah Kerslake, Gainesville, FL; daughter-in-law, Gail Allen, San Angelo, TX; plus many other loving relatives and friends. His son, Mark Thomas Allen, preceded him in death. A private family memorial was held February 4th in Tucson, AZ. In memory of Tom, the family has set up a scholarship in his name at the University of Arizona, Astronomy Department, Director’s Office, Peter Wehinger, 933 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85721