Richard P Allen's Obituary
Richard P. Allen passed away on 07 April, 2024 in Lehi, Utah. He was born on 12 January 1936 in Provo, Utah to Darley and Helen Allen. The family moved to Sunnyside Washington in 1946, where Richard graduated as the Sunnyside High School Valedictorian in 1953. He then studied metallurgical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1961. He continued his graduate studies there, obtaining both his masters and doctoral degrees in metallurgical engineering.
While in graduate school, Richard met Ann Alberts, who was a graduate student in zoology. They were married and sealed for eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 13 June 1963. In the following years, two daughters were born to Richard and Ann: Rebecca in 1965 and Susan in 1968.
After graduate school, Richard and Ann moved to Richland, Washington, where Richard worked as a research scientist for Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory for thirty years. His professional experience included project management and the technical direction of research, development, demonstration, and technology application studies representing a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines. At the time of his retirement, he was directing a study for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to identify the best technologies to use to dismantle and dispose of the thousands of plutonium-contaminated gloveboxes in the DOE complex. He also managed the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Nuclear Plant Aging Program at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. In addition to the development and evaluation of new technology, Richard sponsored public information meetings and prepared numerous publications and presentations designed to transfer new technology to the commercial nuclear industry. He and his team received the Federal Laboratory Consortium Special Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer in May 1985 for these efforts.
Throughout his life Richard was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young man, he served as a missionary in the Spanish American and West Spanish American missions in Texas and California. In Richland, he served in many church leadership and teaching callings. Even before his May 1995 retirement, Richard was serving as the volunteer Director of the Richland Family History Center, a calling he held for 30 years. In addition to overseeing the staffing and operation of the center, he taught a variety of family history classes and helped many patrons with their personal genealogies. From February 1996 to August 1998 Richard and Ann served as full-time genealogical missionaries at the Richland Family History Center. They accepted two extensions of this service mission. Because Richard and Ann had both devoted the majority of their lives to genealogy and the Richland Family History Center, it seemed entirely appropriate that they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2013 with a reception at the Richland Family History Center itself.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Darley and Helen Allen, and two brothers, Darley and Stephen (Shauna). He is survived by his wife, Ann, daughters, Rebecca (Tom) and Susan (Shaffer), and seven grandchildren, as well as one brother, John (Anne) and two sisters, Kathy, and Marilyn (John)
Services will be held Friday, April 12th, 2024 at 200 N Center Street, Lehi Utah. Viewing at 9:00 am, with the funeral services following at 10:00 am. Interment will occur at the Allen Family Plot in the Hyrum City Cemetery, Hyrum Utah.
Funeral services remote link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaBeGfyjaSk
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