Thomas Devitt Allen

Thomas Devitt Allen, age 76, died peacefully on Sunday February 5, 2017 at Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach, Florida. He was born on April 11, 1940 to the late Judge William E. Allen, Jr. and Dorothea Devitt Allen. Formally of Fairfield, CT he was known to his family and friends as "Dev". A graduate of Roger Ludlow High School he studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bridgeport and Architectural Design at the University of Maryland. In 1967, after a tour in the U. S. Army as a Construction Draftsman, he joined Hubble, Inc. in Orange Ct as a Corporate Facilities Manager. A passion for skiing moved the family to Londonderry, VT where he founded the Allen Construction Co., designing and building custom homes and condominiums in southern VT. Dev was an adventurer who enjoyed flying his own plane, canoeing, skiing and sailing. Upon his return to the Fairfield area he continued his design career at New Image Kitchen and Bath and, later, at Ceramic Design, Ltd. When he retired he set sail on his boat, Quo Vadis, for warmer weather. Using Florida as a home base, he ventured to offshore islands, including a memorable trip to Cuba in 2000. Dev continued to express his design and artistic talents in painting watercolors of his various travel adventures. He was a lifelong learner, teaching himself guitar, building wooden kayaks and remote control sailboats. Dev had a wry sense of humor, he marveled in simplicity, and his positive spirit was contagious. He will be remembered by his family as a wonderful father and grandfather. Dev is survived by his two children, Marcy Harris Allen and her partner, Frederick Spataro and their children, Cooper and Enzo of Missoula, MT; Seth Bastian Allen, his wife Erica and their children, Francis and Coco of Burlington, VT; his two brothers, William E. Allen, III and Peter D. Allen of Fairfield, CT and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his brother Richard S. Allen. A dockside memorial service, attended by family and friends, was held in Vero Beach, Florida. A memorial service in Fairfield is also planned for early summer. The family would like to thank the doctors and nursing staff of the Indian River Medical Center Critical Care Unit in Vero Beach, FL for their kindness and compassionate care during his hospitalization. The family requests that contributions in memory of Dev be made to the Save the Manatees Club, http://www.savethemanatee.org, a passion that he shared with his grandchildren. To sign an online guest registry please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com