Allen Vander Meulen Jr.
Allen Vander Meulen, Jr., 89, died peacefully at The Commons in Lincoln on November 22. Born in Chicago on June 23, 1932, he was the eldest child of Allen (Sr.) and Alice (Connor) Vander Meulen of Chicago.
The grandchild of Irish and Dutch immigrants, Allen grew up on the south side of Chicago. He graduated from Fenger High School in 1950. His youth was a happy time, despite the challenges his family faced while he and his siblings were born and grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. He graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in economics (1954) and from Yale Divinity School (1958).
Allen was minister at Third Congregational Church in Waterbury, Conn., from 1958–1963, where he met the love of his life, Dorothy Overbaugh; they were married on August 29, 1959. Their children Allen III and David were born in Waterbury and daughter Ruth was born in Vermont.
Allen’s gifts as a teacher, mentor, and administrator were widely appreciated. He had a strong drive to advocate on behalf of those who had no voice, and to seek justice and opportunity for those who had none. Soon after moving to Vermont, he joined other area ministers to travel to Washington, D.C. and stand in solidarity with hundreds of thousands of others from all over the nation to hear Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Allen became minister at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, Vt., in 1963. He left in 1968, serving as an interim minister throughout Massachusetts and Vermont while attending school, eventually graduating from Brown University with a Ph.D. in economics in 1974. In 1973 he became an associate professor of economics at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He also directed the school’s extension program in Casper.
In 1978 Allen joined North Central College in Naperville, Ill., as a professor of economics. He oversaw the school’s new Weekend College and helped establish what is now their computer science department. He also helped establish the school’s MBA program. In later years he taught business ethics as well.
Allen and Dorothy returned to Brattleboro on his retirement in 1997. There he served as chair of Centre Church’s Endowment Committee and a trustee for the town library, among other organizations. He enjoyed family, travel, biking, long walks, and conversing about philosophy, ethics, or politics. Allen and Dorothy moved to Lincoln in late 2019.
Allen was predeceased by his parents and his sister Eva. He is survived by his wife Dorothy; son Allen III and wife Stephanie of Lincoln; son David and wife Julie of Aurora, Ill.; daughter Ruth and husband Tim of Rockford, Ill.; brother Ross and wife Kay of Galesburg, Ill.; brother-in-law Robert Overbaugh and wife Nancy of Westford, Mass.; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Allen’s grandchildren are Elizabeth Anne Vander Meulen, Aaron Taylor, Joshua Taylor, and Allen Vander Meulen IV.
There was a private memorial service at the Dee Funeral Home in Concord. A celebration of his life will be held at Centre Congregational Church in the spring of 2022. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to Centre Congregational Church, Brown University, Yale Divinity School, or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service. To share a remembrance or to offer a condolence in his online guestbook, click here.