Joe F. Allen passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007, at Whispering Pines in Chubbuck, ID. Joe was born April 26, 1918, in Hagerman, ID, the son of William and Loretta Allen and was the seventh of 12 children.
Joe married his high school sweetheart, Martha Gehring, Aug. 16, 1941, just prior to induction in the military service. They were blessed with four children.
Joe completed high school in three years graduating from American Falls High School and was elected the first student body president at American Falls High School. After graduation he attended Albion State Normal for two years and received his teaching certificate. He was then drafted into the military for one year and sent to Signal Corps School in Fort Monmouth, NJ. The one year of service became four years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the end of the war, Joe returned home with the rank of Staff Sergeant, and began coaching and teaching. He taught and coached at Midland College in Fremont, NB, at Arimo, and then Shelley. During this time, he also attended Utah State University earning his bachelors and masters degrees.
In 1952 Joe and Martha returned to American Falls where he began farming and drilled the first irrigation well in North Pleasant Valley.
Joe always believed in the importance of education, and he served on the American Falls School Board for 11 years, serving as chairman for seven years. He served as president of the American Falls PTA and was elected president of the Fifth District PTA. He was a member of the A.F. Lions Club and helped organize the first Little League basketball program. Joe and Martha were the recipients of the Distinguished Alumni award from the American Falls Education Foundation in 1999.
Joe served as chairman of the A.F. Bridge Committee for eight years. During this time, with the help of many dedicated A.F. and Aberdeen residents, and a few politicians, the new bridge was built.
Joe also served on the Secretary of Agriculture's Potato Advisory Committee; helped organize, and was president for the first two years of the Potato Growers of Idaho; helped organize and was president of the American Falls – Aberdeen Beet Growers Assn.; and helped organize and was president of the American Falls – Aberdeen Underground Water Users Assn., was elected to the to the Idaho State Senate, and inducted into the Eastern Idaho Ag Hall of Fame.
Joe was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. He was a devout Christian and passed that legacy on to his family.
Joe and Martha loved the time they were able to spend together and were able to enjoy many well-deserved years traveling and spending time with their children and grandchildren, before she passed away in October 2000.
Joe was a cowboy at heart. He was very knowledgeable about many subjects, was an avid reader, and loved to discuss farming, religion, and politics. He also loved sports, as a participant in his younger years, then as a coach, and as a fan when he grew older.
Joe was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Martha, his son, Norman, his grandson, Jeremy Mark, six sisters, three brothers, and his parents.
He is survived by three children, Sid (Marilyn) Allen, Jolene Mark, Linda Allen, and a daughter-in-law, Gerry Allen; six grandchildren, Kristin (Bruce) Winder, Sean (Katina) Allen, Dustin (Honi) Allen, Lena Allen, Natalie (J'Dee) Grover, and Chris (Anne) Mark; 11 great-grandchildren, Macy Winder, Jadon and Bryson Allen, Shanice and Aunnika Allen, Alexis and Keagan Swanson, Reagan, Dylan and Dawson Grover, and Brendan Mark; and two brothers, Bud Allen and George Allen.
Services were held Monday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, 656 Tyhee, American Falls. Interment followed at Fallsview Cemetery in American Falls with military honors by the American Legion Roland Evans Post #3.

Teacher & Coach Shelley High School, Shelley, Bingham, Idaho 1950-1953