Richard Arthur Allen, 92, of Rockford, Illinois passed away on Saturday, January 24, 2026, after a brief illness. Born March 11, 1933, in Rockford, he was the second son of Royce A. and Marie I. (Hamilton) Allen. Richard lived a long, happy life in Rockford. One of five children and surrounded by more fun than money, Richard “never knew we were poor” and he credits this sentiment to his mom, Marie, who was the strongest person he ever knew.

As he grew older, no longer skipping school with David to play in the creek, Richard excelled both academically and athletically at West High School ’51 where he made numerous lifelong friends. Some of the best days of his life were made possible by the family of a friend who welcomed a group of teenagers, known as "the teenage club," into their home. The joy of community created there inspired Richard’s life.

Richard first met his future wife, Mary Carol Swanson on the tennis court at Andrews Park. They married on September 4, 1954, and became loving parents, travel companions, and gardening partners for life. The first in his family to graduate from college, Richard earned a degree in Electrical Engineering at Michigan State University in 1955.

Soon after graduation Richard and Mary were sent out to Los Angeles, CA as part of his ROTC commitment with the army. He enjoyed taking aerial photos as part of that commitment and he began his career as an engineer with North American Aviation. After 2 years of too much smog and traffic in LA, he and Mary returned to Rockford. He accepted a job as an electrical engineer with Sundstrand Corp, Aviation Division, and after 2 weeks he was offered a supervisory position. “I never did any electrical engineering my whole life, instead I listened and leveraged the talents of everyone else” he said. He later moved to Sundstrand Machine Tool, in Belvidere, and became a general manager. Needing a career change in 1983, Richard took the leap into entrepreneurship and established Entre’ Computer Center “at the top of the hill” at East State and Alpine. Richard and Mary owned and ran a successful business together serving the community. In 1997 they sold the store and retired.

Over this 40-year period from college graduation to retirement, Richard orchestrated activities, played lots of bridge, lots of golf, started traveling, gardened and continued to take and develop photos in his darkroom. He and Mary also built a truly wonderful life for their three children and grandchildren.

Inspired by increased travel and the purchase of a Porsche, Richard set a goal to visit all the National Parks in retirement. For the next 15 years Richard and Mary traveled around visiting kids and parks and taking pictures of grandchildren and landscapes. Eventually he was able to visit 57 of the 63 parks!

After Mary passed away in 2013, Richard moved to the Wesley Willows community where he made new friends and rekindled relationships from Sundstrand and West High School. He continued gardening and while he no longer tried espaliering apple trees, he still had a beautiful flower garden which became the backdrop to annual patio parties.

When he could no longer travel - his red Porsche replaced by a green electric golf cart, his family visited him frequently. Many trips were made by his three children living in Iowa, North Carolina, and Virgina. His seven grandchildren living in seven different states visited on holidays and special occasions. The gratitude for this time together playing cards and eating delicious food ran both ways.

Richard lived a long life defined an overarching, slightly mischievous dedication to the Frank Sinatra refrain of “I did it my way!”

Richard is survived by his children, Vickie (Jim) Westfall of DeSoto, IA, Rick (Karen Sewell) Allen of Wake Forest, NC and Sherry (Chris) Hayes of Warrenton, VA; grandchildren Sara (Mike) Boudreau, Kayla (Yohance’) Starks, James Westfall, Ryan Allen, Madeleine, Ava, and Sabrina Hayes; great grandchild Samantha Boudreau; and sister Barbara (Dennis) Franke. Predeceased by his wife, Mary Swanson (2013); parents, sister Elizabeth Sundberg; and brothers David and Donald Allen.

A celebration of Richard’s life is planned for March 28th. Details will be made available at a later date.