December 13, 1928  –  June 1, 2023

TUPELO – Mr. David Allen, 94, died Thursday, June 1, 2023 at his home after a brief illness. He was surrounded by the love of his family as he entered into eternity.

Mr. Allen was born in San Diego, CA on December 13, 1928 and raised in a small town in the Mohave Desert. He joined the U.S. Marines in 1948, was subsequently awarded an education at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. Subject to severe seasickness, he was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in 1953. He earned his pilot wings in jet fighters in 1955 and over the years, flew a variety of jets, piston and turbine-powered aircraft, but mostly helicopters. He served at several bases in the U.S. and at bases in Panama, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, South Vietnam, Spain, and Germany. He spent 4 years as a ROTC Instructor at Texas A&M University. He retired from the Military as a Command Pilot in 1972.

In a second career, he served as Director of Physical Plant Maintenance of a West Virginia county school system, retiring to Tupelo in 1990. His loving wife of 39 years, Frieda Clark of Ripley, MS died of cancer in 1994. In 1998, he married Wanda Ballard of Verona who died in 2015. In 2016, he married a family friend of more than 50 years, Narcisa Ogren.

Mr. Allen was an active member of the Verona United Methodist Church, serving as a Sunday School teacher for 15 years. He spent many years as a member of the NMMC Wellness Center which kept him in “pretty good” shape. He was a long-time runner, a life-long car buff, and a “charter” volunteer with the Tree of Life Free Clinic. He enjoyed RV camping and spent considerable time with his wife, Wanda, exploring the National Parks around the country. He was especially fond of his workshop. Earlier in his career, he raced sports cars and motorcycles as an amateur. He was fortunate to be able to race his motorcycle at the Nurburgring, a famous race course in Germany.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11 AM on Monday, June 5, 2023 in the Sadie Holland Memorial Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors. Visitation will be from 10 AM to service time. For those unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed at 11 AM at hollandfuneraldirectors.com/live-streaming, where it will be archived.

Mr. Allen is survived by his wife, Narcisa; daughters, Lisa Hjulberg of Tupelo, Kim Dean of Navarre, FL, and Linda Allen of Tupelo; son Andrew Allen of Aliso Viejo, CA; 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Allen is particularly fond of a joke which ends at the funeral home where somebody says, “Look, he’s moving.”

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