David Marshall Allen was born in Buffalo, NY, on January 24, 1942, and passed away in Grand Junction, CO, on April 11, 2025, after a brief, but devastating diagnosis of brain cancer. Dave spent the last 10 years of his life deeply loved and in love with Carolyn Lenderman. He passed with Carolyn by his side.

Dave was a larger-than-life, entrepreneurial soul, who lived life on his own terms. He spent much of his younger life in Warren, RI, and attended school at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, RI, where he played football (due to his speed and tenacity) and worked in the kitchen so he didn’t have to wait tables and compete with the other students for his fair share. Most of his New England family lived on the water and he started sailing at a very young age, becoming highly skilled, and later sailed competitively for the Navy during his military service (1959-1963) at Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Pictured is David accepting the award for ‘Sailor of the Year’. He was a surgical corpsman (medic) in the Navy, known as ‘Sleepy Doc’, for his ability to take a nap just about anywhere during breaks in tactical training. He also served as a surgical assistant and hoped to become an orthopedic surgeon. After leaving the Navy, Dave attended Columbia University in New York City and then Quinnipiac College in New Haven, CT.

After a ski trip to Bad Gastein, Austria, he and his family decided to live abroad for awhile and moved to Germany. That turned into 33 years, as they lived in central Germany for three years and then moved to Suffolk, England, where they lived for nearly 25 years, then 5 years in Dunoon, Scotland. David returned to the U.S. in 1999, settling in Colorado. Dave moved to Grand Junction in 2015 with Carolyn. He enjoyed discovering the wild west of Colorado with Carolyn and their dogs. Her children, Amy (Thomas), Gray (Nicole) and Meg (Dan), and their families became a huge part of his life.

Dave was an astute Certified Financial Planner and had loyal clients on two continents. He continued to ski, sail, hike, and enjoy life. His spirit and can-do attitude will be cherished forever, he is greatly missed.

Dave is survived by his former wife Candy, three children, Jennifer, Hilary (Gary), and Christian, four granddaughters, his brother Peter (Diane), his sister Susan (Tom), and several nieces and nephews. Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur Marshall Allen and Leona D. Langevin.

A celebration of David’s life will be held on Sunday, May 4th, 3:00 p.m. at Koinonia Church, Grand Junction, CO. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to HopeWest Hospice at hopewestco.org. 

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