George M. Allen, Jr.
George Morrison Allen, Jr., beloved husband, brother, father and grandfather, transitioned
peacefully from this life on May 26, 2023, after a short hospitalization. He was 88.
George was born in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, to George Morrison Allen and Esther Howard
Allen. He was younger brother to Jane Allen Piehl (Seattle, WA) and older brother to William
(“Bill”) Howard Allen (Williamsburg, VA).
He graduated high school from the Haverford School in 1953. George earned his undergraduate
degree from Washington & Lee University in 1957, where he majored in economics, played four
years of varsity lacrosse, played in the dance band and directed a college singing group. George
was a loyal “Delt,” a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After graduation, George served
in the Pennsylvania National Guard for six years. George met his future wife Dorcas at a pool
party and they married on Valentine’s Day in 1959. They were partners for 61 years, until
Dorcas’ death in 2020. They traveled widely and enjoyed a close circle of vibrant friends.
George worked in project management and marketing for Acme Markets, Sperry Univac
(Director of Worldwide Distribution Marketing), Nilfisk of America (General Manager) and
Tozour Energy Systems (Senior Vice President) until retirement. While at Sperry Univac,
George was a director of their Universal Product Code Task Force, which worked with other
industry leaders to introduce and develop the universal bar coding (UPC) systems ubiquitous in
our lives today. After George retired, he drove an elementary school bus for the children of the
Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, which he really enjoyed.
In 2006, George and Dorcas relocated to St. Louis to be closer to family, where they lived a few
doors away from their grandchildren and attended many school events, family dinners, Cardinal
baseball games, symphony concerts and some acapella concerts by the Ambassadors of
Harmony.
George was active in his several communities, serving on Swarthmore Borough Council for six
years, as a treasurer and auditor for the Swarthmore Swim Club and as a Sunday school teacher
in the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. He was an avid runner for many years and enjoyed
competing in several half-marathons and a number of 10K races. He also enjoyed family paddle-
tennis, skiing and sailing. In St. Louis, George and Dorcas were active members of Ladue
Presbyterian Church. After they moved to Laclede Groves, George sang in the LSS choir,
attended church regularly and helped beta-test LSS’s touchscreen campus guides. At LSS, not
one to sit still, George was known as “the man on the scooter,” for his speedy trips around
campus on his electric scooter.
Among those who cherish his memory are his children and grandchildren: daughter Kristine
Allen Kerr and her husband Raymond Benson Kerr (St. Louis, MO), daughter Lynne Allen
Avram and her husband Wesley Damian Avram (Tempe, AZ), grandchildren James Allen Kerr,
Megan Elizabeth Kerr, Andrew Damian Avram and Paul Allen Avram.
I’m holding you close in thought and prayer but rest in the knowledge and peace that Uncle George and Aunt Dorcas are together with their Savior.