Paul Allison

America has lost another member of the Greatest Generation. Paul Allison passed away peacefully on April 2, 2017 at 90 years of age. Imagine a young boy doing chores on a small farm in Idaho during the depression. A farm his father had once cultivated with mules. Imagine a rickety biplane sputtering overhead. Imagine the boy dreaming of flight. The boy did indeed fly when he grew only a little older and it took him to worlds he could not possibly have imagined. Paul was born on June 7, 1926 in California and grew up on a small farm in Caldwell, Idaho. He graduated high school at 16 in 1943 then worked in the Portland shipyards building Liberty Ships until he turned 17 and joined the Navy as an aviation cadet. The Navy sent him to an accelerated program at Whitman College then to preflight training. The war ended and he returned to Idaho to farm and spend his G.I. Bill money on flying lessons. The Navy invited him to re-join and he returned to flight training, continuing on to a 29 year career as a Naval Aviator. He retired from the Navy in 1972 as a Commander. During flight training he married Janet Banks of Bristol, TN in 1949, eloping after a seven day courtship. "Love at first sight," as they say, and that love endured. They were married almost 68 years, had four children, owned and operated a successful orchard together, and traveled the world. Upon completing flight training he served two tours in the Korean War flying with Patrol squadron VP-1 interdicting enemy supply vessels and protecting the fleet in theater from ships and submarines. Subsequently he would serve as a flight instructor, a globetrotting transport and VIP pilot, an OCS instructor, navigator on an aircraft carrier, Plans Officer for Operation Deep Freeze, and receive lots and lots of schooling between active duty postings. He often quipped that Naval officers changed jobs so often they had to learn the art of becoming an “instant expert.” He would end his Naval career with yet more school, receiving a Masters in Computer Systems Management from the Naval Postgraduate School before his last posting as Executive Officer of one of the largest computer facilities in the world. In his words: "Naval Command System Support Activity (NAVCOSSAC) was 'the' Navy development program in 1969 for all of Navy and command systems. It took a building a half block in depth and not quite as wide to house just one computer in those days!" Longing to return to the “real” world and a more active life, Paul and Janet bought a 40 acre orchard outside of Zillah, WA in 1972. The orchard would expand to about 300 acres and Paul would serve the fruit growing community as president of the Pear Board and president of the Roza Irrigation District Board amongst other industry service activities. He was frequently interviewed by Yakima and other media outlets on industry matters. After 44 years, management of the orchard passed to his son Russell and Paul retired for the second and last time. Paul was highly intelligent and multi-talented. A hard working man who valued responsibility for self and inspired the respect of others with his trustworthy, friendly character and can-do attitude. We who survive love and admire him dearly still. Paul is preceded in death by his father Walter, his mother Marie, his older brother Jim, and his son David. He is survived by his loving wife Janet, daughter Diane and her husband Tom, son Russell and his wife Cindy, son Paul Steven, grandson Aaron, granddaughter Shawna and her husband Aaron, and several great-grandchildren. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Paul Allison, please visit our flower store.