ALLAN, Russell Alexander, BGen (Ret’d), OMM, OSJ, CD, RCASC
Russ passed away suddenly, in his 87th year, at his home in Venice, Florida on Saturday
January 5th, 2019. He was pre-deceased by his beloved first wife, Elizabeth Mary (Liz). He is survived by his children, LCol (Ret’d) Steve Allan (Nancy), Jeff (Sinar) and Arlene, his second wife Carol and step-children Cheryl Clyne (John), Davis Sillick (Linda) and grand-children and great grand-children.
Russ was born in Montreal, Quebec on April 17th, 1932 and graduated from Ottawa Technical High School in 1950. On January 19th, 1951 he enlisted as a Private soldier with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. After completing basic training and the Parachutists Course he deployed to Korea in October 1951 as a Rifleman with D Company. After 13 months service in Korea, Russ returned to Canada as a Corporal and transferred to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. In 1954 he was selected for Officer Training and after graduating he married Liz on November 9th, 1955, in Ottawa. Highlights of his army career included serving with the Airborne Logistics Unit, two tours with the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East, Commanding Officer of 4 Service Battalion in Lahr, West Germany and Base Commander of CFB London, Ontario. In 1983 he was promoted to Brigadier-General and awarded the Order of Military Merit (OMM). After three years as the Director General Supply and Logistics Systems, during which time he also served as the Logistics Service Advisor, Russ retired from the Army in July 1986 and then worked as a military equipment procurement Consultant for several years. Russ remained a strong supporter of the RCLSA.
Russ and Liz enjoyed their retirement in Ottawa and travelled frequently on cruise ships throughout the world until her death in 2003. Russ and Carol spent their summers at their home at Robertson Lake, Ontario and wintered in Florida until 2013, when they moved to Florida full-time. They also travelled extensively and spent as much time as they could with their family in the United States and Canada. In 2011 Russ was proud to become a United States citizen.
Russ was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He was keenly interested in the welfare of his extended family and friends in Canada and the United States and was a great source of advice and guidance to all. He was an avid golfer, playing regularly with his many friends at the Venetian Golf and Country Club. In 2017 at the age of 85 he achieved his life-long goal of shooting his age when he shot an 84 in March and then again in April on his birthday.
A memorial service for Russ will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1301 Center Road in Venice, Florida at 10 am on January 17th,2019. His cremated remains will be interred with Liz at the Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa this summer. Details to follow at a later date. In memoriam, the family would be grateful for donations to Wounded Warriors Canada (www.woundedwarriors.ca) in the USA (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).