Allen Jr, James S.
James Stratford Allen Jr, of Oracle AZ passed away peacefully on March 23, 2021 with his family at his bedside from complications of heart failure.
Born in Glendale CA, he grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended the Harvard School, and started his lifelong love of automobiles, mechanics, and racing. Upon graduation from high school he attended the State College of Washington in 1949.
In 1951, he joined the United States Air Force. His first assignment was in Burlington, Vermont. It was here where he met his future wife Shirley Ann Gray (1928-2017). They were married for 65 years! James spent 24 years in the Air Force. He started as a mechanic on P-51's (his favorite airplane) in Burlington VT. He became a flight engineer and spent time in Search and Rescue before transferring to the Military Airlift Command. He served four tours of duty in Vietnam. During his career he was stationed at Travis AFB in Fairfield CA, Hickam AFB in Hawaii, McGuire AFB in NJ, and George AFB in Victorville CA. He retired from the Air Force in 1974. He was extremely proud of his service in the Air Force and to the United States.
Upon retiring, he and his family moved to North Hollywood. He worked in the aerospace industry, retiring from RocketDyne in 1992 as a final parts inspector for engine components on the Space Shuttle. He was very proud of his work.
The next chapter in James' life was moving to Oracle AZ. Strattie and Shirley moved to Oracle in 1992. It was here where they built their house. While building the house almost literally killed them, they became part of the community, made numerous friendships, and loved living their final years in Oracle.
James' hobbies were varied. He loved movies, especially Westerns. His father was a physician with many Hollywood patients. He was friends with the director Ed Sedgwick, and knew Lucille Ball and Buster Keaton. He was an expert model builder, having won awards for planes and tanks he built. He was a skydiver with an altitude record in Hawaii. He loved motorcycle and auto racing, classic cars, and his Raptor. He was a voracious reader on a wide variety of subjects, but primarily military history. He enjoyed a wide range of music, from Opera to Willie Nelson. Strattie was a complicated and interesting man.
He is survived by his daughters Lynn Marie Smith and Cynthia Allen, and sons, James S. Allen III, and Clayton Randolph. He is pre-deceased by his wife Shirley (1928-2017) and son, John Gregory (1957-2016).
There are many in the town of Oracle that the Allen family would like to thank. Sue and Jerry Parra, Wolfgang Mueller, and Al and Rosie, Anita, and Casa Rivera. The Allen family would like to thank Agape Hospice. They made our father's final days peaceful.
James was cremated at Vistoso Memorial Chapel and buried with military honors at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Marana.
