Allan Dean McKenzie

Allan Dean McKenzie died peacefully from Alzheimer’s disease on August 3, 2017. He was born in Pendleton, Oregon on August 17, 1930 to Dr. Hugh and Helen McKenzie. A talented artist from an early age, Dean held a degree in commercial art from San Jose State University, a master’s degree in Greek and Roman studies from Berkeley, California, and a Ph.D. in art history from the New York University of Fine Arts. While working on his Ph. D. he was asked to evaluate the Charles Bolles Rogers collection of Byzantine art and liturgical objects. This led him to a specialty in Byzantine Art, with focus on Greek and Roman Icons. Although he was not Orthodox, the Icon’s haunting spirituality appealed to his Christian orientation. After receiving his doctorate, he taught at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and was instrumental in having the Rogers collection donated to the Madison, Wisconsin University. He later came to the University of Oregon where he taught Art History for 25 years. An internationally known scholar, Dean was often called on to evaluate and write the expertise for Icon collectors from around the world. He and his wife, Lucile sponsored an Icon room in the Schnitzer Art Museum at the University of Oregon to preserve and display the Icon collection of the UO. As a child he was always eager to see how things worked, which often resulted in near disasters when involving things like chemistry sets and firecrackers. When he was thirteen he became interested in photography, an interest he maintained for the rest of his life, and an essential part of his chosen field. He won many awards for his photography and had numerous photographic exhibits, locally and in New York, Princeton, and Washington, D. C. He was an enthusiastic outdoor person, who loved skiing, hiking, and playing tennis. A lightening-fast punster, he delighted in the groans his puns elicited from family and friends. He married Joyce Mason in 1955, and they had two children, Donald Harris and Kathleen Chagnon. He and Joyce later divorced. In 1982 he married Lucile Johnson and they had a beautiful marriage of over 34 years. Besides his wife, he leaves behind his two children, Donald (Leslie) and Kathleen (Larry), stepchildren, Debra Voelker (Charles), and Dayn Johnson, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, two brothers, Dr. Robert McKenzie of Pendleton, and Dr. Kenneth McKenzie of Watsonville, California, as well as nieces and nephews. Private burial services were held at the Masonic Cemetery. A memorial service will take place at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26.