Robert Allen

Robert “Bob” Glassburn Allen passed away on Saturday July 22, 2023, surrounded by loving family. Bob was born on January 9, 1927, in Steamboat Springs, CO. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945-1946 and attended college at both the University of Colorado and the University of Washington, where he received a BA in Theater.

In 1950, Bob toured with the University of Washington Touring Theatre. Then, in November 1951, he joined radio station KLWN in Lawrence, Kansas. In Lawrence, he also participated in community theater at the university; and in 1953, Bob became the announcer on Channel 12 in Hutchinson, the first TV station in the state of Kansas.

In 1955, Bob moved to California and became a Northwestern Mutual Life agent, and in 1961 he became the Director of Advertising for Salinas Valley Savings (a local savings and loan) which grew to become Northern California Savings. In that same year, Bob married Elizabeth “Ann” Spurr Conrad of Salinas.

From the early 1960s through the early 1990s Bob was actively involved in Toastmasters, Rotary Club, the California Rodeo, and the Good Shepherd Church, all in Salinas. He was an award-winning public speaker and adman; and more recently,Bob ran a popular Reader’s Theater Group at the Samarkand in Santa Barbara, where he and his wife, Ann moved in 2005.

Bob never knew a stranger and was loved by all for his gift of gab and sense of humor. He was also an avid photographer and a joke enthusiast.

He is survived by his wife, Ann, and their four children, Mark Allen (Lou Dotson), Sylvia Hendlin, Dawn Allen (Anthony Paré), and Luke Allen. He is also survived by four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Bob’s family would like to extend a warm thank-you to the staff of Samarkand for their compassionate and exemplary end-of-life care.

A memorial service will be held at The Samarkand Mountain Room on Friday, July 28,2023, at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity.