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WILLIAM LORIMER “BILL” ALLAN was born in New York to William Allan, a CPA, and his wife, Astrid. Bill grew up in Brooklyn and Hollis, NY, with his parents and his younger sister, Audrey. Bill was a quiet boy, interested in many things, and he was an excellent student. He graduated from the Brooklyn Technical High School for Boys, where he earned several academic awards. He briefly attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and then enlisted in the Army, following in the footsteps of his father, who had served in the British Army during WWI. After basic training and a tour of duty in Okinawa, Bill was assigned to the USMA Preparatory School at Stewart Field in Newburgh, NY, and was appointed to the Academy from the Regular Army. At Stewart Field, Bill made many friendships which he maintained at USMA and later in his professional life.
Bill’s advanced academic and military training prepared him well for life at the Academy. Despite struggling a little with Spanish, he quickly attained a high class standing. He had few problems with his other subjects. His high academic standing and prior military service contributed to his selection as one of a small group of cadets in the class who spent the first part of yearling summer on a cruise aboard a Navy battleship, including a brief tour of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Although he was a fan of some of New York’s professional baseball and football teams, Bill’s personal interests were in target shooting and competition with military rifles and pistols. He was a member of the M-1 rifle team and a regular participant in the activities of the Pistol Club. As part of these activities, he bought a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver and enjoyed learning how to fire it and how to load and reload its unique cartridges. Bill’s interest in handguns prompted him to check historic guns out of the museum for study. A roommate remembers several gloomy winter Sunday afternoons spent tearing down, studying briefly, and then reassembling a variety of handguns, some with special historical significance.
Bill was a dedicated student and, aside from his participation in gun sports, was not involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. However, he devoted himself to doing an excellent job in whatever he did. For example, Bill’s drawing and lettering abilities, which were precise and artistic, enabled him to produce certificates for post Sunday School students that were true works of art. He also enjoyed listening to early talk radio, and he read extensively. His social life was centered on spending as much time as possible with his “One and Only,” a young lady named Joan Burdekin, whom he married shortly after graduation. He and Joan later had two children, Steven William Allan and Leslie Ann Allan.
Bill maintained his academic achievement throughout his cadet career. He wore academic stars during his Second and First Class years and graduated eleventh in his class. He ranked first in the class in Military Law and second in Military Art and Engineering at graduation. After the completion of officer basic training at Ft. Bliss, TX, Bill was assigned to a Nike-Ajax surface-to-air missile battery on the slopes of Mount Wilson near Los Angeles, CA. Afterwards, Bill was transferred to the Ordnance Corps. He spent the 1958–59 academic year at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where he earned a master of science in engineering. He then served in Aberdeen, MD, the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, and as the commander of an ordnance detachment in Korea. Bill resigned from the Army as a captain in 1963.
A few years later, Bill returned to Purdue for two years, earning his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1967. In 1968, he started working for the Advanced Material Concepts Agency in Washington, DC. In 1974, he went to work for Bechtel Corporation, also in the Washington area, and he became the president of Elliott-Allan Corporation in 1978. He later worked for RAM E Engineering Research and MRJ, Inc.
Like his academic and professional accomplishments, Bill’s outside interests multiplied with time. His interest in guns continued after his graduation from the Academy and even after his resignation from the Army. He also developed new and active interests in a variety of things, including woodworking and mechanical and electrical shop work. He also became an expert in cars and automotive mechanics. His wife gave him a sports car as a gift, and he maintained it and participated in competitive sports car rallies. His son recalls Bill doing most of the maintenance on all of their cars and even rebuilding an old Rambler in the early ’70s. Bill continued to read widely, became an accomplished photographer and film developer, and cultivated a love for music, listening to it on high-quality sound reproduction equipment.
Bill’s marriage to Joan ended in 1978. Following their divorce, he married Carol Mulvane, with whom he lived for the rest of his life. Following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Bill died in Memphis, TN, on 9 Apr 1998. Bill is survived by his second wife, Carol; his first wife, Joan; their two children; and three grandchildren.
— Family and a classmate
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