Chester native is killed in Iraq

CHESTER — Chester has lost one of its own. Chester High School graduate Louis Allen, a father of four and a physics teacher at George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo, was killed in Iraq at the age of 34. Allen, a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard 101st Cavalry Regiment based in Newburgh, had been in the war less than one week. Allen's unit was reportedly ambushed in the middle of the night on Tuesday, June 7. Louis Allen leaves behind his wife, Barbara, and four children: Trevor, 6; Colin, 5; Sean, 3; and Jeremy, 2. The family lives in Milford, Pa. His parents were in Maine on vacation when they got the news. Robert and Vivian Allen still live in the Chester house in which Louis and his siblings grew up. Father and son share a birthday, July 20. He also leaves behind three sisters, Laurene Sandstrom of Chester, Vicky Jackson of Campbell Hall, and Jennifer Davis of Slate Hill, as well as a brother, Robert Allen, Jr., of the Bronx. Laurene Sandstrom, who works as the dog control officer for the Town of Goshen, said, "Lou was a wiseguy with a quick smile from the time he was young. He never changed, and that's why we all love him so much." According to Sandstrom, their sister Vicky Jackson was especially close to Louis. "She has lost not only a brother but her best friend," she said. Sandstrom told The Chronicle on Thursday that the family was arranging church services to be held in Chester. Allen would have been in Iraq for only one week today. On Tuesday, the morning before he died, he sent an e-mail to Tuxedo High School principal Denis Petrilak to make sure his students were ready for this month's physics Regents exam. The e-mail contained pictures of the palace where Allen was staying, as well as serene scenes of the desert. "If you had read his e-mail you wouldn't have any idea how dangerous of a situation it really was," said Tuxedo's Superintendant of Schools Joe Zinetti. "We're all just shocked." Members of the Chester community were filled with sadness on Wedesday, as news of Allen's death spread through town. Rose Gill's children went through elementary school and religious instruction with Louis Allen at St. Columba Roman Catholic Church in Chester, where she was the coordinator of instruction. "He was such an imp, God bless him," she said. "You looked at him and you melted. He was so cute. He had a personality that was so lovable." Said her son, Robert Gill: "He was such an awesome guy nall American n good hearted. He was a great guy. There's nothing you could say bad about him n no mean-spiritedness in him. It's just really sad." For Village of Chester Highway Superintendent John "Tom" Bell, the news really hit home. He has a son, John Thomas Bell, Jr., who is a fireman in the Air National Guard. John Jr. knew Louis Allen, and was two years behind him in school. He learned of Louis' death on Wednesday. Tom Bell's wife e-mailed their son that morning and asked him to call home. Bell is not sure what his son's response was, but said, "shocked, I would guess." John Jr. left for Iraq a few weeks after Louis Allen did. "He says he's safe, so I have to respect what he's doing," Bell said of his son. Sandstrom said her friends from the Goshen Humane Society and animal shelter, of which she was manager until last month, have been wonderfully supportive, dropping by to give the family food and whatever other help they needed. "It's been such an outpouring of love and support from the whole community," she said. Back at Tuxedo High School, there is a small memorial in the main entryway filled with letters and pictures for Allen. One letter on the memorial says, "Many people knew him as a teacher and even more knew him as a friend." "We didn't lose just a teacher we lost a family man," said Zinetti, the principal. "On one end of the scale he was entirely dedicated to teaching and his students. On the other he was a devoted U.S. soldier. The two ends of the spectrum seem so distant but that's what made Lou Allen such a unique and wonderful individual. He was a true American." Crisis teams from Tuxedo and Greenwood Lake were at the school all day Wednesday and Thursday to help support the students, who were allowed to skip classes. Barbara Allen works for Viking Realty in Goshen, which is setting up a scholarship fund for their sons. Laurene Sandstrom asks that people not send flowers but instead save their donations for the fund. "Flowers would have meant nothing to Louis. But his boys were everything to him." [This story was reported by Linda Keay, Eric Harris, and Pamela Chergotis. It was written by Chris Mayone.]