Allen Marsden Wardle, surrounded by his family, slipped his mooring for the final time and sailed into heaven to be with Jesus on March 4, 2015, passing away after a long and valiant fight against cancer. Born in Springfield, MA on September 28, 1947, to Frances and Harry Wardle, he is survived by his wife of 35 years, Donna of Beverly, MA; daughter, Jennifer and her husband, Peter of Beverly, MA; granddaughters Hannah and Olivia; older sister, Robin Wardle of Chicago, IL; and younger brother, Lee Wardle and his wife Geordie of Orlando, FL.
Allen lived his life as a man of action with careers revolving around interaction with people and biology, most recently having retired from the sales and support team of PerkinElmer in 2011. He invested his life in his family, coaching Jennifer in everything from soccer to swimming, even gaining a certification in swim officiating to be more involved in her meets, and volunteering for the New England Revolution soccer team, keeping statistics and scores at games. He and Donna traveled extensively, with a particular love for the islands of St. Martin and Turks and Caicos; Sedona, AZ, and camping all throughout New England with friends and family.
With a particular affinity towards biology and chemistry, Allen found a passion in baking and cooking, which brought delight and smiles to all those who enjoyed his cookies, breads, and other amazing confections – so much so that he gained the nickname “The Cookie Man” from the nurses and staff at Dana Farber, to whom he would bring, for every treatment over the course of 4+ years, plenty of his signature cookies.
And Allen was crazy about his granddaughters – Hannah and Olivia – who affectionately referred to him as “Papa.” He spent hours reading and playing with them, teaching Hannah to bake (and letting her “sneak” some treats here and there) and summoning all of his great strength to play with Olivia, no matter how he felt.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 25, at 11 a.m. at Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot St, Beverly, MA 01915. Interment will be at Central Cemetery, Beverly. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Allen Wardle to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via www.dana-farber.org/gift.
I met Donna and Allen way back when 609 was part of NEN and we all worked together. He and Donna on the first floor, me on the second. I remember when they returned from their honeymoon and shared the pictures, one of a sandy beach with Donna and Allen standing at the waters edge always stayed with me. He was a sweet guy then and stayed that way throughout all the years. He always smiled - always. Though I never did have any of his home brew, I did partake of some of the sweets he made when we were all in 549 and lunched together daily. Donna and Allen - great people, great team. I am so sorry for the family, huge loss.
