Jay Allen, from Newton, Mass., passed away over the holidays at his Dallas, Texas home of a sudden cardiac arrest. Son of Ann Chase Allen and the late Professor Jonathan Allen of MIT, and beloved brother of Doug Allen and partner Heather Fairfield, and stepdaughter Kestrel McDonald of Canton MA. Also survived by his Aunt and Uncle, Sylvia and Harry D. Nelson Jr, of Hanover, NH. Jay was Godfather to the children of John and Eleanor Allen: Erika, Olivia, and Nicholas. (no relation). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jay’s memory to Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Scholarship Fund, 130 Essex Street, South Hamilton, MA, 01982. Please write “In Memory of Jay Allen” in the check memo.
Jay attended Newton Schools: Angier, Meadowbrook and Newton South High. He graduated Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion and completed his post-graduate work at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and Boston College, with a Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies. His interest in religion led him to a month-long stay in Jerusalem, where he completed the Nine Days Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus, among other explorations in Israel. Jay served his religious community at a number of churches as a Bible study leader and Sunday school teacher, and was an enthusiastic participant in a wide range of church events, including volunteering as audio/sound engineer for Park Street Church services. His fellowship also included sponsoring several at-risk children through World Vision over several decades.
Professionally, Jay worked in computer software sales, often spearheading sales initiatives, drafting technical papers and promotional materials, as well as writing industry overview and thought pieces. He had notable stints at Oracle, Computer Associates, Artificial Life, Platinum Technologies, MathSoft, and several Microsoft network partners. Jay’s interests were also entrepreneurial: he helped to found software consulting company Gigaback Corporation in its start-up period, conceiving and directing their initial sales and marketing plan.
Music was central to Jay’s life. He learned to play guitar as a teenager and often built his own guitars and related instruments from scratch. Jay composed his own acoustic songs, and was especially moved by rock, folk and bluegrass music; he often participated in guitar/banjo picking circles and sing-alongs at gatherings big and small.
Jay’s other great passion was history, particularly military and nautical, and he was currently working on a book about the British Channel Wars. His ability to understand and bring history alive was widely noted among those who knew him. Jay was also a skilled calligrapher and enjoyed drawing and design, even building his own highly-customized desktop computers.
Jay never lost his spontaneous playfulness and loved to interact with children. He encouraged them greatly in educational and musical pursuits and always made himself available as a valuable resource. His sense of humor reflected his lively appreciation for Monty Python:
God: Arthur, King of the Britons, your Knights of the Round Table shall have a task to make them an example in these dark times.
King Arthur: Good idea, O Lord!
God: 'Course it's a good idea!
-- Monty Python’s Holy Grail
Service information-A Memorial Service will be held at the Union Church 14 Collins Rd Waban Saturday February 3rd at 2 pm with a reception immediately following. (via, Waban T stop, take path to upper side walk, walk left to the church a few yards away.)