He was the man we called "Sweetheart", "Daddy", and "Grandpa". He was the daddy with the twinkling blue eyes, the gentle smile and the rich tenor voice. He was the man who told elaborate stories, who danced with the children and grandchildren to Big Band music and who carried a picture of his bride in his pocket. He was the grandpa who ran races and won at age eighty-two, who loved the smell of the garden and who could make remarkable things out of bits of scrap. He was Carling Dorr Allen – the man we loved.

Carling was born August 5, 1918 in Kingston, Utah. He was eighth of twelve children born to Marion Devalson and Laura Priscilla Porter Allen. Carling passed away at his home on May 12, 2004 at the age of eighty-five.

Carling attended Piute County schools. He served in the Army, playing in an Army Band from l941-1945.

He married his eternal sweetheart, Carma Hansen, in the Manti Temple on December 23, 1946. They were blessed with 11 wonderful children. Their courtship lasted over fifty-seven years during which time they never stopped holding hands.

After graduating from BYU, Carling returned to Piute to teach music for sixteen years. A love of teaching, singing, and dancing stayed with him throughout his life. Always an inventor, he then turned to manufacturing his suspended seating, relocating to Utah Valley. For a time he sold World Book Encyclopedias.

A kind and gentle man, he spoke only positively of others. His children and grandchildren have been truly blessed by his loving acceptance and encouragement.

He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving in many callings. Carling and Carma enjoyed serving two missions, one in Nauvoo and the latest in Palmyra. Their love for the Savior is evident through their lives of service.

Carling is survived by his wife (Carma) and nine of their children, Bruce (Laura) Allen, Mesa, Arizona; Darlynn (Larry) Tolman, American Fork; Jeannine (Dave) Thomas, Orem; Nanette (Steve) Averett, Springville; Minon (Tom) Smith, St. George; Lavon (Nan) Allen, Orem; Thalia (Marty) Mansfield, Lehi; Patrice (Ken) Bretschneider, Orem; and Elise (Rich) Warner, Rockton, Illinois. Two daughters, Lynette and Carol, preceded him in death. Carling and Carma are the grandparents of sixty-six and the great-grandparents of thirty-eight. He is also survived by two brothers, Marion (LaRae), LaVerkin, Utah; and Merrill (Elaine), Kingston, Utah; and one sister, Leda (Wayne) Dowdle, Salome, Arizona.

Funeral services will be held in the Geneva Heights Stake Center, 546 North 500 West, Orem, on Monday, May 17, 2004 at 12:00 p.m. Viewings will be held on Sunday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Sundberg Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State Street, Orem, and from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the church preceding the funeral.
Interment will be in the American Fork City Cemetery.
Published in the Deseret News from May 15 to May 16, 2004.