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Today's Featured Biography

 
Dennis Allen

I am impressed with the VHS class website. I was glad to find it, and upon looking thru our class along with several other classes, was happy to see that many of you I knew,or had been good friends with, are well and doing good. I was likewise saddened to see some I knew had passed on.

Right after graduation I attended the California Maritime Academy. CMA was a great place to learn the lessons of life, and learn the ways of the world. I grew in some sort of wisdom from that time forward. I learned how to get-er-done, and make shtuff work. The education provided a BS degree in Marine Engineering, along with a Third Engineers License in the Merchant Marine, and a Commission in the Navy Reserve.

After shipping a few temp trips as Third Engr with Matson Lines, I went to work at Aerojet-General in Sacramento. Aerojet turned out to be a pretty decent company, and I worked there for 3 years making Minuteman solid rocket motors. I had joined a small
research Naval Reserve Unit at Aerojet, since I figured there would be a layoff in 6 months or so, and maybe I would activate my Commission and return to active Navy Service.

I always say "things have a way of working out"... Well, I got laid off in May 1965, and while figuring out what to do, I and a friend, went to a dance in Vallejo. Guess what, I met a young lady (who today is still my wife of 47 happy years). I had to see where that relationship went, so sailed a few trips as Third Engineer with MSTS, sort of under protest, and realized that if the relationship was to be a good one, then it was time to swallow the anchor, which I did. We married a few months later early 1966.

Fortunately, the experience at Aerojet introduced me into another interesting career, Manufacturing Engineering. At that time, this was not a College Major, but showed up some years later at more and more Universities. I wound up at Westinghouse making marine steam turbines, reduction gears, turbine generator sets, reactor core barrels, and five 84” ball valves for the Oroville Dam. Then it was off to General Motors to build around 4 or 5 million cars and trucks in the Fremont Assembly Plant. After that it was Sun Microsystems building Engineering Workstations and High End Servers. Career time finished at Raytheon Missiles and Space making some very interesting stuff for defense. We retired to Castle Rock, Colorado where one of our sons lives with his family. It is between Denver and Colorado springs.

My family has always been number one. My wife Lynn and I have 5 wonderful children, all successful in their own way. There are 11 grandchildren, which are really a fun group. They have grown up, or are growing up, smart and well educated. The "cousin campouts” are a blast.

My wife and I have just returned from a Mission with our Church in Slidell, Louisiana serving as Managers of the Bishop’s Storehouse and Home Storage Center. The Storehouse serves the southern region providing food orders for families in need, and supplies for Hurricane and Tornado relief in the region. We helped out a lot during Hurricane Isaac. Three of our children
and their families came down to visit during the time we served.

By this time in life, I have figured out that I always think the way I have always thought, tempered of course by experience. There are a few things I may have done differently along the way, but nothing major.

I still enjoy fishing, boating, family history, and fixing stuff.

As we say in nautical terms “fair winds, and following seas”. Best wishes… Feel free to email

Mon Apr 8, 2013 - 8:22 AM

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