James Robert 'Jim-Bob' Allen
General Information:
Deceased on February 12th, 2016
School Activities:
Junior Year - Student Service.
Senior Year - Student Leadership.
James Robert 'Jim-Bob' Allen
James R. Allen, age 68, of Four Seasons, Missouri, passed away Friday, February 12, 2016 at University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.
James was born August 28, 1947 in Terre Haute, Indiana, the son of Ivan L. and Dorothy J. (Tabor) Allen.
James was united in marriage July 29, 1966 in Caseyville, Illinois, to Joyce Wickiser. They shared 49 1/2 years together at the time of his death.
James earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and Eastern Kentucky University. He went on to earn his Master's Degree from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
James served his country proudly in the United States Army during the Cold War years of 1972 through 1992 when he was honorably discharged. After serving in the military for 20 years, James worked as a computer security specialist. He was a former Board Member and member of Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Temple in Springfield, Missouri and was the current Rajah of Lake Ozark Shrine Club, where he was a member. James was also a member of the Hickory Hill Masonic Lodge #211 in Eldon, Missouri and a member of Lake of the Ozarks Corvette Club.
James is survived by his wife, Joyce, of the home; his son Jeffrey Allen of Homestead, Florida; his daughter Kimberly Montgomery and husband, Patrick Boyer, of Granite City, Illinois; his brother Joseph Allen of Georgetown, Texas; seven grandchildren, Heather Montgomery, Bradley Allen, Michael Boyer, Kristopher Allen II, Natasha Boyer, Mikayla Allen and Aireyan Allen; along with several other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents Ivan and Dorothy Allen and one son, Kristopher J. Allen.
James Robert 'Jim-Bob' Allen
After graduation I worked several jobs in the area until I landed a positon with the Alton & Southern Railroad as a Locomotive Fireman. In 1966 I married Joyce Wickiser, a 1966 graduate of CHS. Joyce and I had three children, a girl and two boys. Our daughter still lives in the area, Granite City, our oldest son is a Senior Chief Petty Officer with the US Navy in Stuggart Germany. Our youngest son, passed away in an automobile accident in Mathis Texas in 1992.
In 1972 I enlisted in the US Army. After basic training at Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri I headed for Ft Devens, MA, where I attended school with the Army Security Agency. In April, 1973 my family joined me in Germany for a three year tour in Bad Kreuznach, a beautiful little community west of Frankfurt along the Mosel river. While assigned to Bad K, I was able to graduate from Central Texas College, with an AAS in Law Enforcement. It took me 25 years to get a BS degree, but I finally reached that goal and was granted a BS in Police Administration from Eastern Kentucky University in 1996, even managed to be accepted to PHI KAPPA PHI, the national honor society for science discplines. In 1998 I was awared a MA degree from Webster University in Computer Resources and Information Management. I figured that was not too bad for a guy that did more partying than studying in high school.
1976 found us heading for Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas, but by 1978 I was sent to South Korea, and while in Korea I was appointed a Warrant Officer. 14? years later I retired for the first time.
After returning from Korea in 1979 the family and I headed for Fort Knox, Ky for a couple of years. In 1981 my father passed away and we were all headed back to Europe again. This time is was Baveria, Stuggart, Germany, which lasted for almost five years. During this assignment the family and I traveled throughout Europe, including England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Joyce even went to Yugoslavia.
In 1985 it was back to Ft Sam Houston again - same building, same desk for the next three years. By 1988 I was headed back to Germany, to Worms a small town outside of Mannheim. After two years it was back to Fort Sam Houston for a year and then retirement in 1992.
From 1992 to 2010 I worked for many Department of Defense Intelligence programs and Joyce and I moved actually more times than we did while I was on active duty. Our travels took us from San Antonio, Texas, to Fort Hood Texas, then back to San Antonio, to Aurora, Colorado, then back to San Antonio again. Then I headed to Sierra Vista, Arizona for a time, then we moved outside of Austin, Texas for several years.
In 2005 I moved to Alexandria, Virginia, and Joyce moved to our final retirement home at Lake Ozark, Missouri. I worked for the FBI for a couple of years, then moved to an element of the Homeland Security and finally worked on a contract for the Central Intelligence Agency. In 2010, I was told I had to have a fourth back surgery and I retired and came home to the Lake.
Since 2010 Joyce and I have been enjoying our time at the Lake on our boat and fishing with Don Cato, when he and Janice visit their lake home. There is a lot to be said about retirement.
Our son Jeffrey is looking forward to retirement from his 26 years in the Navy next year and moving with his family to somewhere close to the lake, we hope.
James Robert 'Jim-Bob' Allen
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." Sanhita Baruah