John Whitaker Allen of Rockford, Illinois, passed away on March 4, 2026. Born to George and Lis Allen in New York City, he spent his first few years in Germany, while his father was stationed there in the Korean War. His mother, Lis, liked to joke that when they settled in Chicago, she would dress him in lederhosen walking down the street.

After the war his family lived in the Chicago area for many years and John attended Neu Trier High School. He studied architecture in college and graduated from UW-Milwaukee.

After a brief hippie era of bell bottoms and long hair, in the 1970s, John was one of the very first Civil War reenactors. He re-enacted several military time periods throughout his 50 years in this hobby. He had no idea that he would meet the love of his life at a Civil War Reenactment. He met Mary Ann in 1984 and proposed to her just a few months later. They married about a year after meeting. A year after that, they welcomed their first daughter Elizabeth. Their second daughter Carrie completed their family.

What started as a hobby turned into a full-fledged business in 1987. He taught himself how to sew and started selling uniforms and souvenirs at reenactments. He and his wife took their children on the road and visited over 40 states and just about every battlefield. Many hot weekends were spent in a tent.

A typical trip with him would be finding a battlefield on the way on any road trip. His daughters would groan that they would be looking at just another field in the middle of nowhere. But later in life, his daughters started to appreciate his love of history and the only movies they watched together were “war films” as they called it.

He was a person of many talents having built decks, pontoons, and not one but two clubhouses for this daughters when they were kids. He taught his daughters how to ride a bike, was always up for volleyball, badminton, swimming, or lighting off a firework or two.

His other hobby, painting, led him to creating hundreds of beautiful works of art over his 50+ year painting career. He painted thousands of miniature figures in a dozen different wars. He will be deeply missed by his children and grandchildren, but they are happy to know that he is with his beloved wife again.

He is predeceased by his loving wife of 38 years, Mary Ann Allen; his parents George and Lis Allen, his parents-in-law Harold and Kathleen Waring; and his grandparents Henry, Caroline, Michael, Emilia; as well as the beloved family dog Scooter, his sweet kitty Jasper, and his kitty granddaughter Solitaire.

Survivors inlcude his children Elizabeth (Mike) Falls and Carrie Allen; his grandchildren Elliot and Emmett; his brothers-in-law Mike Waring, Joe (Val) Waring, Pat (Barb) Waring; his sisters-in-law Grace (Dave) Herrera, Ellen (Dave) Martin, Peg (Bob) Wozniak, Rose (Mike) Miller; his nieces Kateri (Mike), Toni (Adam), Rachel (Bill), Amanda, Andrea, Casee, Maddy (Rob), Cassie, Addison, Gracie, Ridley; his nephews Jim (Ponmalar), Dan (Staci), Justin, Josh (Jessica), Alex, Andrew (Laurel), Billy, Jordan, Lucas, Aran, Peyton, Gus, Maaran, and Nash.

Visitation will take place on Friday, March 20, 2026 from 10:30 a.m. until the time of funeral service, 11:30 a.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford, Illinois. Burial to follow at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Winnebago, Illinois. To send online condolences or share memories, please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com