Harold Robert "Red" Allen, 88, of Normantown, WV passed peacefully on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at Minnie Hamilton Health System in Grantsville.
He was born the son of Straud and Ena Minney Allen on February 17, 1932. At home on Pistol Fork he was greeted by his older sister, Geraldine (Marks) and brother, Eugene. He was later joined by younger siblings Ronnie, Connie, and Caren (White).
He was driving the family Model A to Rosedale school and empty log trucks up Route 47 from Marietta when he was fourteen. Local legend has it that he drove a Jeep up the steps of Normantown High School, and in later years, he said, "The story just keeps gettin' bigger. Now they have me drivin' it up the hall to the principal's office."
During the Korean War, he enlisted to join brother, Eugene, who had been drafted. During basic training in Fort Jackson, he slept on the top bunk while Eugene slept on the bottom. He was then stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. A year later, he flew home to marry his high school sweetheart, Joan Minigh. After their first married year in Alaska, they returned to Stumptown, where they built a house on the family farm and raised three children, Annetta (Richards), Jeffrey, and Michele ("Shelly").
Harold worked for Straud Allen and Sons, timbering and building houses. By request, he finished his father's term as Gilmer County Commissioner following his father's death and was later elected to the office. Later, he was employed by WV Community Action Services, where he maintained transportation services for Head Start and Senior Citizens programs in a several-county area. He went on to become a well-loved school bus driver in Gilmer County, ferrying students from the Perkins/Normantown area to Glenville and back.
He retired in 1997 to his home at the mouth of Crooked Fork on the Right Hand Fork of Steer Creek, where he gardened, tinkered, "cut filth", told stories and jokes, and continued for as long as he could to help his neighbors whenever something broke down and needed fixin'.
He succumbed to Parkinson's disease after a thirteen-year-long struggle, but kept his sense of humor and endearing grin right up until the end. He is survived by his daughters, Annetta and Shelly, his son-in-law, "Pete" Richards, daughter-in-law Marilyn Allen; three grandchildren, Megan (Richards) Hosey, Jessica Allen, and Travis Allen; brothers Eugene and Ronnie; sister-in-law Mary; sisters Connie Allen and Caren White; brother-in-law Dana White; many cousins, nieces and nephews; and his beloved companion of 22 years, Eadra (Miller) Cox.
Visitation will be at Stump Funeral Home & Cremation, Inc., Arnoldsburg, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Friday, February 21, 2020 and the funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at the Minigh Family Cemetery on Little Bull Run, Cedarville. A meal will be served following the interment service at the Rosedale Senior Citizens Center in Rosedale.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.stumpfuneralhomes.com
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