Donald I. Allard

With the heaviest of hearts, we sadly announce that our beloved Husband, Father, Grandpa and Brother, Donald Ivan Allard, passed away on Friday, April 26th, 2024.

At 90 years young, he was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Neigel Allard, and grandparents, Henry and Ethyl Allard. He leaves behind is loving wife of 45 years, Cecilia Allard; his 4 daughters and 1 son: Kathy Neumann, Mike Allard, Jennifer (Joe) Wieland, Erin (JJ) Ross and Julie (Nathan) McKnight; 7 grandchildren (Jeremy, Corey, Nick, Jessica, Gabriella, Julian and Everett) and 4 great-grandchildren.

He was born on March 4, 1934 and was raised on an 110-acre farm in Lebanon, Ohio where he learned many of the necessities to take care of himself and those around him. With the help of his grandparents, he learned how to care for the cows, hogs, chickens and many crops they grew on the farm all while running a restaurant. As a child of the Depression Era, he always knew the value of a dollar and was always the first to advise you on why ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’. He was a proud trombone player of the band and graduated from Lebanon High School. He also received his Apprenticeship in Pharmaceuticals at the young age of 16. If he set his mind to something, he would accomplish it.

After high school, a friend encouraged him to check out General Electric as they were hiring. After taking an aptitude test, they called him right back and offered him a position with aerospace engines on the spot as his score far exceeded their standards. His career took him from a jet engine draftsman all the way up to a Design Engineer for test rigs. He attended the University of Cincinnati while working a full-time job as a draftsman. Even though they pleaded with him to stay, he retired after 38 years of loyalty. He wasn’t quite ready to retire yet, so he spent 11 more years working for Belcan Engineering as a consultant with GE. He was very proud of his work in Engineering. He loved teaching his children and grandchildren his knowledge of math and science and never missed an opportunity to ask ’now what is the speed of light?’

His other love was golf. If he didn’t have a club in his hand, you could find him doing a practice swing with just his hands anywhere he was. He loved playing on his weeknight and weekend leagues and won many tournaments through his years. I’m surprised he wasn’t in the PGA! He was a proud member of Four Bridges Country Club and played many courses around the USA. When he was on the golf course, he always had the biggest smile and was in his happy place.

He was a warrior when it came to his health. He was a 20+ year colon cancer survivor! In his later years he suffered from other health issues that took him away from golf but he would still watch the golf channel and talk to you every day about the game. He never wanted to burden those closest to him with his health issues and was a proud and brave man up until his final breath.

We will forever miss this hero in our lives. He brought such strength and love to this world. Fiercely loyal to those he loved. He traveled all around the world and had more friends than we can count. He was a man of great detail and punctuality which made him such a success in his career and life. He would give you the shirt off his back but be there to teach you a lesson in the experience to make you stronger for it. He would love to sit down with you and talk to you about life and would always greet you with a joke to make you laugh. Not a day will pass without him being in our thoughts. Rest peacefully, our sweet Donnie. Until we see you again.