Daniel Irving Allen's Obituary
Daniel Irving Allen was born April 1, 1935 in Porterville, California to Ida Jeanette Sanderson, of Porterville, California and William Dean Allen, of Peggs,Oklahoma. He passed from this earth on ***. Dan suffered from Late Onset Hereditary Cerebellar Ataxia, a rare condition that he had battled since 1996. He was 79 years old. Dan grew up in the foothills of he Sequoia National Park in the logging town of Springville, California. His family owned a gas station and a restaurant; Dan and his brother Bob worked in both businesses. They attended the one room school house in Springville until the 8th grade then moved on to Porterville schools. When Dan was 15, his 41 year old father died of a heart attack while they were working the gas station. This event so greatly affected him that he quit school and went into the mountains to work as a logger until 1952, when at age 17 he joined the US Navy. He obtained his GED in the Navy and later an Associates Degree at Tulsa Community College. He received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy in 1958 after serving in Korea, the Philippines and on Midway Island as a Sea Bee. After leaving the Navy, while traveling from California to Georgia, Dan stopped in Tulsa to find temporary work. But fate intervened and introduced him to Carolyn Sue West, so he stayed a little longer than planned. They were married on July 5, 1956. Dan drove a bus, worked heavy equipment then ran a trucking business for several years before joining the Tulsa Police Department in 1967. During their marriage, he and Sue were blessed with four children – Vicki, Margie, and twins – Chuck, and Lela. They were married 15 years until Sue died of leukemia on November 19, 1971. On February 6, 1973, Dan married Rita Vanatta Harlow and along with her young son, William Todd Harlow, he started a new family and a new life. Their early years were lived in Berryhill until their children all graduated from high school, but they stayed in the Tulsa area until 2002 when they moved first to Tahlequah, and finally a rural area outside Hulbert to be nearer their children and grandchildren. Dan and Rita were married until the day Dan died – over 40 years. Dan was preceded in death by his father, William Dean Allen, his mother, Ida Allen Clark, his first wife Carolyn Sue Allen, his brother and sister-in-law Robert Dean and Vivian Allen, and one grandson William Lee Treadwell. He leaves behind a large and loving family including his wife Rita, of the home in Hulbert, five children, two sons-in-law, twelve grandchildren, four great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. They are: Daughter Vicki Carter and her children Nicole of Greasy, OK. daughter Lauren and sons Daniel Treadwell and Gregory Childers plus Gregory’s daughter Camille all of Tulsa, Daughter Margaret Littledeer and husband Gary and their three children Justin, Lakota and Renee, plus Renee’s three children Cedrick, Rainee and Cayle all of Stilwell. Daughter Lela Goodwin and husband Michael and their three children Macy and Gator of Stilwell and Tawnie of Tahlequah. Son Charles Allen and his son Kyle Strain and wife Mindi plus their sons Braden and Colton all of Sand Springs. Son Todd Harlow and his daughter Melissa both of Vicenza, Italy. Brother and sister-in-law Joe and Pam Vanatta of the home in Hulbert. Sister-in-law Sue Vanatta of Tahlequah. Nephews Dan and Rick Allen of Fullerton, California, Nephew Blake and wife Maddie Newport of Glenpool, OK. Niece Bailey Frailey and husband Derek of Pryor, OK. Niece Chelsey Estrada and husband Jamie of San Antonio, Texas, Dan Allen was a proud Tulsa Police Officer. He was a good cop – a natural born law enforcement officer. Before moving to Tulsa he worked as a police officer in San Francisco and was on the line at Berkeley in the 60s, so Tulsa was a breath of fresh air. He was straight man to his best friend and partner of many years – Rex Webb. Together they solved a lot of crime and even received the Tulsa Police Officer Of the Year Award in 1980. Dan loved police work – the chance to catch bad guys and even the odds for the good ones. It’s who he was. He retired from the Tulsa Police Department in 1997 after 30 years of service. Things were never quite the same for him after that. But first and foremost, Dan was a family man. He was a good husband, and a good father. Like most cops, he worked extra jobs to make ends meet. Even so, and with 5 kids coming and going, he never missed a game or match and often coached their teams. He was a very strong man – fearless – hard – old school tough. But he loved his children, his family, more than life itself. They were his most precious possession and the one thing of which he was most proud.May God receive his soul in the spirit in which his life was lived.
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