World War II vet George Allen was councilman, farmer, firefighter.
By: Lacey Korevec
MONROE From storming the beaches of Normandy in 1944 to gardening, hunting and running a tree farm in Monroe, George Allen had a lot of stories to tell.
"Everybody liked him," said Monroe resident Tom Allen, Mr. Allen’s son. "He was a friend to everybody."
George Allen, 89, died Tuesday at his home on Church Road. Born in Windsor, he grew up in Cranbury and moved to Monroe in 1940, where he raised his family and spent the rest of his days.
"Anybody who had any questions about town, they could just call my father and he’d sit down under a tree with them and tell them everything they wanted to know," Tom Allen said.
During his younger years, George Allen helped the United States invade North Africa, Sicily and Normandy during World War II, serving in the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, Blue Spader 26th Regiment. He received a Silver Star for gallantry in action before retiring from the Army Reserves as a major.
His friend, Jack Kutz, of Buckelew Avenue, said he and George Allen talked about World War II experiences often.
"I learned a great deal about the times he was overseas and the places he saw and all the battles," Mr. Kuntz said. "We did talk about it and many times he felt very bad about the people who were killed over there."
Employed by the state, George Allen worked as an assistant chief for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for 32 years before he retired in 1979. He also owned and operated a 15-acre tree farm on Old Church Road.
"He had his own little oasis here," Tom Allen said of his father’s farm. "He could hunt here. He had a great pond he could go fishing in."
George Allen also served the community as a councilman for Monroe Township and as police commissioner for four years during the 1960s. He was a charter member and first president of Applegarth Volunteers Engine Company No. 1, a commissioner of the Monroe Township Shade Tree Commission, as well as a member of the VFW Post 262 in Monroe.
A Boy Scout while growing up, George Allen also volunteered as an assistant scoutmaster for Monroe’s Boy Scout Troop 105. Tom Allen said he loved mentoring the Scouts.
"I remember some of his young Boy Scouts, as they grew up, they’d always stop by and see my father," he said. "They were 25 years old, 35 years old and they’d just pull into the driveway to see my father."
Chip Septak, of England Road, said he was one of those Scouts. He spent a lot of time drinking coffee in George Allen’s kitchen and hearing firsthand accounts of World War II.
"You kind of looked up to him because he was your scoutmaster and he’s the person teaching you what to do," he said. "So, it wasn’t till I was older and when I was growing up and he told me more stories about how he was involved with the war that I really took an interest."
George Allen’s wife, Adele H. (Stachurski), died in 1986. He is survived by his son, Thomas L. and his wife, Susan S., of Monroe; his daughter, Margaret A. Taub and her husband, Richard S., of South Brunswick; two grandchildren, Megan J. and Thomas W. Allen; and six step-grandchildren, David, Michelle, Michael and Sarah Taub and Lara and Gary Munch.
Mr. Kutz said George Allen loved his family, especially his grandchildren, but also loved his friends.
"He was so easy going," Mr. Kutz said. "I think he loved people and he would never talk too much about anyone and considered everyone to be a friend. He would always say people had something good in every one of them. And it just rubs off on you."
Gardening was one of George Allen’s favorites past times and he knew almost everything about plants, Mr. Kuntz said.
"He taught me about a lot of things and even though I was trained in college courses about some of that stuff, I learned more from him than I probably did in college," he said.
Mr. Septak said he admired George Allen’s appreciation for trees and gardening, and especially his dream of opening a tree farm, where he sold Christmas trees and holiday wreaths.
"It was something that he started on his own from the beginning really from nothing and he wanted to leave something to his kids," he said. "That was his goal and he made it into a business."
Betty Dipierro, of Jamesburg, said she knew George Allen for nearly 50 years and will miss stopping by his house and seeing him in a rocking chair on the porch with his dogs. He also had a number of chickens and roosters, she said.
"They were beautiful people, him and Adele," she said. "And he loved his little roosters and hound dogs. He was just a nice man. He was a gentleman. And we just had a lot of good times together."
A funeral service will be held today (Friday), at 12:30 p.m. at the M. David DeMarco Funeral Home, 305 Rhode Hall Road, Monroe Township.
Interment will follow at the William C. Doyle N.J. Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arnytown.

