Allen St.John Place, 81, of Lloyd, passed away on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center of Poughkeepsie, New York, after a short illness.
Born April 20, 1938 in Poughkeepsie, New York, he was the son of the late Clarence and Elsie (Clearwater) Place.
On May 11, 1958, he married Joan Coddington at the Methodist Church on Main Street in New Paltz. They were married for 57 years until her passing on April 25, 2015.
Allen was employed by Mohonk Mountain Resort, New Paltz, New York as a Maintenance Engineer. He never retired and was still employed there at the time of his death. He was also a construction carpenter, building the family house himself in 1968.
When Allen was born at Vassar Brothers in 1938, he had a digestive issue and he would have died if it wasn’t for the care and attention of a nurse who fed him goats milk. Her name was Alice St. John and his parents named him after her in gratitude. He turned out to be a very active man who loved to fish and play golf. He also coached baseball in New Paltz and was a member of a Drum Corp. that participated in choreographed performances for parades and competitions all over the state. Allen was quite a character as well- nearly landing a part in a Paul Newman movie being filmed in Beacon, but he refused to take off his NP (New Paltz) hat which was more dear to him than any movie role. He had a lot of friends and was known to his children and grandchildren as “Grandpa Bear” and as “Flickens”. He will be greatly missed by all.
In addition to his parents and wife, Allen was predeceased by his brother, Earl Place.
Survivors include his two sons, Dave A. Place of Highland, New York and Keith L. Place of Ravena, New York; his three grandchildren, Cory Place and his wife, Kaeleigh of Gardiner, NY, Ryan Place and his wife, Ashley of Wallkill, NY, and Shelby Place of Walden, NY; four great-grandchildren, Trinity Faith Place, Anabel Autumn Place, Leena Mae Place of Gardiner, NY, and Carter John Place of Wallkill, NY.
Friends may call on Wednesday, October 30, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Copeland-Hammerl Funeral Home, 162 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz.
On Thursday, October 31, 2019, friends may gather again at the funeral home from 10:30 a.m. and a Funeral Service, officiated by Pastor Jennifer Berry, will begin at 12 noon.
Burial will follow at Lloyd Cemetery, 841 New Paltz Road, Highland, NY. The after services for a celebration of Allen’s life with the family will take place at The Elks Lodge, 290 State Route 32 S. New Paltz, NY 12561.