SSG David Lemar Allen, age 73, of Tonkawa, Oklahoma passed away October 21, 2026, at Stillwater Medical Blackwell Hospital, in Blackwell, Oklahoma.
A celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 10am at the Trout Funeral Home chapel in Tonkawa with Terry Ballard officiating. A traditional feast will follow at the Henry L Allen Community Building on the Fort Oakland Reservation of the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma in Tonkawa.
David also known as "Poppy" by his munchkins was born on June 5, 1953, in Riverside County, California at March Air Force Base to Henry and Paralee (Reynolds) Allen. Being in a military family, he experienced life as a child overseas during the 1950s and 60s in many places from Turkey to Germany as well as many different places in the United States. When his father retired from the military they returned to the US in 1967 where they lived in Oregon before moving and settling in Tonkawa, Oklahoma. David attended Tonkawa High School and was pictured with the senior class of 1971 but had to get his GED after he got into a fight with the principal a few weeks before he was to graduate. After high school he enlisted into the Oklahoma National Guard along with both his brothers, who were all assigned to the National Guard Armory Battalion in Tonkawa. On July 5, 1973, David married the love of his life Linda Karline Baker at the Tonkawa Reservation. Linda enjoyed going to the casino to play bingo and David was always willing to go along, though his favorite game to play there was Da Vinci Diamonds. David proudly served in the Oklahoma National Guard retiring after serving over 20 years. He had a passion for working on cars which led him to be a lifelong mechanic in both his military and civilian life. He completed his Master ASE Certification and became a Level 5 Special Electronics Technician for Chevrolet for many years at Sonny Cannon Auto Center in Blackwell. He later went to work with his lifetime friend Rick Steichen at Steichen Auto Repair on Ranch drive in Ponca City before retiring from the auto repair industry. He loved collecting and listening to vinyl records and watching old classic gun slinger movies as well as more modern classics like Die Hard. He enjoyed reminiscing about his time overseas as a child and his favorite stories were about his time living in Alaska with his wife on his daughters off-grid farm. David was a genuine person who would go broke to help you and would pretty much do anything for anyone, anywhere, anytime.
He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Linda; his great-granddaughter, Kylie Conrad; his brother, Kerry Allen and his "adopted" brother Waldo Allen.
David is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Allen-Doughty, and Brandi Conrad and her husband Craig; son, Jason Allen; grandchildren, Jade, Geordi, Shalee, Kayla, Lily, Savanah, and Donald Jr.; great-grandchildren, Auramae, Sebastian, Oliver, Edith, Madelyn, Declan, Elodie, and Emerlyn; brother, Russell Allen; sisters, Trish Allen, Cindi Gould, Kitty Nelsen, and Jeanette Waffle; his beloved furry companion, his dog Wini "Fred"; and numerous nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews.
Honorary casketbearers will be Rick Steichen, Bobby Walton, David Martin, Geordi VanDeest, Declan VanDeest, Donald Conrad Jr, Benjamin Allen, Canyon Allen, Timber Allen, Race Allen, Alexander Black, Cole Chandler, David Hockenbury, Joshua Waffle, Matthew Waffle, Thomas Followwill and Cody Allen.
We invite you to leave a message of condolence, expression of sympathy or perhaps share a memory of David at troutfunerahome.com.