Stephen J. Allen, 71, formerly of Noank, died on Nov. 20, 2018, at Mystic Healthcare from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. He was predeceased by his wife of 28 years, Janice DiBattista, in 2013.
Born in Ithaca, New York, on September 21, 1947, while his father attended Cornell Law School after World War II, Stephen (known as Steve) grew up in Maine, where his parents had deep roots. He attended public schools in Biddeford and graduated from the University of Maine in 1971 with a degree in engineering physics.
Steve’s great area of interest was maritime—a love of the coast and sea fostered by his Maine youth, in a home overlooking the ocean in the part of Biddeford known as Fortunes Rocks. He began his career in 1966 as a student trainee in mechanical engineering at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH. Soon after his graduation from the University of Maine, he moved to Groton, CT, to work for Electric Boat. From 1970 to 1976, first in Maine and then in Connecticut, he served in the Army National Guard. In 1984, while living in Connecticut, he joined the Coast Guard as a civilian mechanical engineer at the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center, where he was assigned to the Ocean Engineering Branch. After earning a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1987, Steve (now Dr. Allen) was promoted in 1990 to the position of general engineer at the Coast Guard R&D Center and held that position until his retirement in 2008.
As an engineering manager in the Coast Guard Research & Development Center, Steve developed quantitative methods to analyze diverse sources of information in order to develop, evaluate, and improve Coast Guard operational systems. For example, for the new Island Class Patrol Boat, his team carefully placed sensors in critical areas of the boat. Steve and his team then collected data from the sensors while running the boat at full speed into heavy seas in the Gulf Stream off Miami, Florida, and translated this information into operational guidelines that allowed captains of this class of ships to know the safe operating conditions for both the boats and the crews. The paper by Steve’s team describing this work was cited as the “Best Paper of the Year” by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and received the Captain Linnard Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field.
At the time of Steve’s retirement, the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard R&D Center, Thomas W. Jones, cited Steve for using his deep understanding of quantitative analysis of engineering information in over 15 major projects, including non-lethal technology, efficient energy systems, and marine safety. On this occasion, Captain Jones presented Steve with the “Commander’s Award for Sustained Excellence.”
In private life, after his marriage in 1985 to Janice—a well-known Mystic area artist—Steve put his engineering skills to work in a domestic capacity by renovating their two successive homes, first in Mystic and then in Noank. Beautifully decorated by Jan, each residence in turn became a focal point for Steve and Jan’s large circle of extended family members and friends. Prior to his illness, Steve also spent much time both in and out of the water with Sandpiper—his cherished boat (a Carver 28 cabin cruiser). In addition, he loved to read, especially books about history and the sea. However, Steve still found time to exercise by riding his bicycle around Noank, often commuting by bicycle from his home in Noank to his workplace at Avery Point. He was a member of the Noank Historical Society (where he served on the board of directors from 2007 to 2011) and the Ram Island Yacht Club.
His surviving family members include his stepdaughter, Denise Pierson of Pawcatuck, currently resident in Norway; her husband, Chris; and her children, Chris Moffett and Brian O'Mara. Steve's New Jersey family consists of his sister, Deborah Thomas; her husband, Gordon; their son, Allen; the latter’s wife, Erin; and their daughter, Grace. Steve’s Illinois family consists of his brother, David Allen, and David’s wife, Mary Linberger. In California, Steve has a nephew, Joshua Allen; the latter’s wife, Anna; and their sons, Robert and Gregory.
Memorial donations in Stephen J. Allen’s name may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research www.michaeljfox.org or the Noank Historical Society, P.O. Box 9454, Noank, CT 06340.
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