Obituary of Allen Pizel

Allen Delbert Pizel was born on March 26, 1928 --- the second child of Joseph and Esther Pizel - in Saint Francis, Kansas. He was welcomed home by his older brother, Wilford J, fondly known as Bill. At the end of his eight grade year, Allen left school and started working with his older brother and father on the farm north of Burlington. In 1950, Allen joined the United States Air Force and finished his basic training in Rantoul, Illinois where he learned different types of welding. He was then stationed in Indian Springs, Nevada and the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. He was witness to the hydrogen bomb testing done in that Pacific theater. While on leave from that station, he met his future wife, Bonnie Barber. He married her on May 19, 1954, in Albuquerque, NM, and they made their first home at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico. Allen adopted her daughter, Connie, later that year. When his enlistment was done, Allen moved his family back to Colorado to resume farming and raise a family. Connie helped Bonnie and Allen welcome her new baby sister to the family when Donna Diane was born on March 16, 1955. The family mourned the loss of a first-born son, Allen Junior, in December of 1956; then joyously welcomed a second son, Michael Allen on October 23, 1958. Allen was a loving father and a hard working life partner with Bonnie. Allen and Bonnie returned to Kit Carson County to first farm south of Burlington at Bonnie’s parents farm. They eventually moved to the Pizel farm northeast of Burlington which Allen managed his entire life. Allen and Bonnie happily welcomed additions to their family when Connie married Fred Niles in 1972 and Donna married Ralph Gorton in 1973. Allen became a Grandpa when Eddie Niles joined the family in 1972. Randy Gorton and Aaron Niles joined him in 1976. The grandsons spent many wonderful summer days with their Grandpa – riding motorcycles, helping on the farm, and taking swimming lessons. Allen and Bonnie’s brood grew by one more when Mike and Jamie Burmeister presented them with another grandson, Dalton, in 1991. Allen and Bonnie were pros by then, and Dalton got all the benefits of their many years of experience being grand parents. They spent many happy hours together at the farm showing him the farming life style. Allen and Bonnie gained an extended family in 1993 when Jeremy Franz drove his brothers and sister to the Pizel farm to ask him and Bonnie to be their Grandpa and Grandma. The Franz kids provided them many years of enjoyment. Allen loved farming and growing his crops, cattle and his grandsons. He enjoyed his farming community, friends, and neighbors and how they all worked together and helped each other out. He loved to socialize and enjoyed going to the coffee shop to catch up on all the latest news and happenings going on around him. He joined the tractor pulling association and won many of those contests. Bonnie helped the organization out as well and Mike was there to make sure everything ran like it should. Mike and Dalton even joined in the pulling contests and won their own fair share of ribbons and trophys. Allen had his favorite tractors - the Farmall Super WD9 (the first tractor he bought new) and the John Deere R that he called "Puppy Power." He enjoyed farm and tractor shows and went to several over the years back in Illinois, Minnesota and in Arizona. In 1984, he took Bonnie to Australia and New Zealand and then on to Alaska in 1987. He was always willing to share many stories about their adventures on those trips. And, it was in the late 80's that he and Bonnie began their snowbird experiences in Arizona. Allen was a true man of the land --- he would always come back home when the wheat started greening up. The coffee shops were waiting, full of long time friends with lots of new and exciting things to share with him. Allen fell ill in Arizona in late February and wanted to return to Colorado. Donna and Ralph Gorton brought him back to Denver to seek medical treatment. Allen was advised to undergo surgery, and eventually succumbed to complications from that procedure. He went home to his heavenly Father on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at the age of 86 years and 3 days. He was preceeded in death by his parents, Joseph and Esther; his brother, Wiford J “Bill; his wife of 56 years, Bonnie, and their infant son, Allen Junior. He leaves to mourn his passing: his son Mike, and grandson Dalton of Lakewood, CO; his daughter Donna and husband Ralph Gorton and grandson Randy and wife Amy of Centennial, CO; his daughter Connie and husband Fred Niles and grandchildren, Eddie and wife Crisyl and Aaron of Brighton, CO; his nephew, Jeff Barber and wife Mary, and nephews, Justin and Michael, and niece, Sarah of Lakewood, CO; and his extended Franz Family; Tammy of Burlington; Jeremy & Kasey and children Parker and Piper of Bethune; Shawn and Ashley and their children, Kalyn, Dylan, McKaylen, DaKoda and Xander of Burlington; Mandy and Nicolas Scott and their children, Tyka, Taylor, Trinity, and Tanner of Burlington; Cory and Kristi and their children, Alexis, Logan, and Ashlyn of Goodland, KS as well as numerous cousins and a world of friends.