Robert Keith Allen

Reading, VT – Robert Keith Allen, 81, died Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at the Jack Byrne Center in Lebanon, NH.

Robert was born December 20, 1944, in Hanover, NH a son of Rolfe and Ina (Benedict) Allen. Bob grew up in Reading and has lived there all of his life. He was married to Joan Allen, and they made their home in Reading where they raised their three children until later divorcing. He is survived by his wife, Esther Allen of Reading; children, Kevin Allen (Pam) of Manchester NH, Kim Allen of Reading and Curtis Allen (Kate) also of Reading; grandchildren, Darren, Nicholas, Alexis and Brody as well as a brother Dana Allen (Marie) of Marshfield, MA.

He graduated from Springfield High School in 1962. In May of 1960 he entered the machine tool co-op program at Fellows Corporation and began his formal career at Fellows on August 19, 1963. Bob continued working at Fellows and the subsequent business owners until retiring in March of 2019 from Bourn & Koch. During that time, he held many positions and worked his way up to Vice President Eastern Regional Sales. Bob was a well-respected employee and “boss”.

Bob’s other career was spent in public service. He served on the Reading Selectboard for 53 years, up to the time of his death, and was chairperson all but 2 years. He was on the Board of Civil Authority, the Board of Tax Abatement, Town Service Officer, Town Health Officer and currently Town Zoning Administrator. He managed the Town through four floods; 1973, 1976, 2011, and 2023, making sure the Town was made whole again after each one. Bob served for 23 years on the Old Time Ball Committee and was a member of the volunteer fire department. He was a Trustee for the Felchville Cemetery Association and Trustee for the Wallace Robinson Trust. He was on the board of directors for Farms for City Kids, the Windsor County Ag Fair and Reading Historical Society.

Bob was past president of the VT Fair Association, the NH Fair Association, and the Eastern Draft Horse Association. He was currently serving as vice president of EDHA and the Treasurer/Director for the Hopkinton State Fair. Bob was a 51-year member of the Windsor Elks Lodge #1665, currently serving as Treasurer.

For Bob; horse, ox and pony pulling competitions are a passion. He was a competitor in ox pulling himself for 20 years. When his Uncle Wayne passed in 1992, Bob picked up where he left off running pulling events throughout New England. Bob ran an exhibition pull at Shelburne Falls, VT in 1998 and was an international judge for two years at the USA/Canada Ox Pull.

His fair circuit of judging this year took him to Cheshire Fair, Rutland State Fair, Cornish Fair, Hopkinton State Fair, Tunbridge World’s Fair, and Topsfield MA Fair. Despite his failing health he persevered through them all.

A visitation will be held at the Knight Funeral Home in Windsor on Saturday December 5, 2026, beginning at 3PM. An Elks service will be held at 5:30 with a time of sharing for family and friends to follow.

The family is grateful for the staff at the Jack Byrne Center for making this difficult part of Bob’s life journey endurable. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to support your favorite organization.

Condolences to Robert’s family may be made in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com.