Allen John Fowler

Allen John Fowler
1937-2021

On November 19, Allen Fowler passed away peacefully after a brief battle with congestive heart failure.  Airlie, his wife of 64 years, was at his side.  It was a full circle moment as he had recently been admitted to Sherwood Care, the very institution he established and administered from 1969 to 1986. 

Allen and his twin brother Albert were born in 1937 in Salmon Arm, B.C.  He attended school in Silver Creek and Salmon Arm. He and Airlie grew up in the same little community of Silver Creek.  They began dating as teenagers and were married on Allen’s birthday in 1957.  Allen gave his heart to Jesus and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1958.

Allen was a member of the B.C. Forest Service and worked cruising timber, eventually becoming an assistant ranger.  However, he desired to serve the Lord full time.  In 1959 Allen and Airlie packed up their infant daughter, Lorna, and headed to Canadian Union College (now Burman University) in Lacombe, Alberta, where he majored in Theology and minored in Education.  It was here in 1960 that their second daughter Barbara was born.  Their third daughter Vivian was born in 1962.

In 1965 Allen was invited by Pastor Lloyd Janzen, his former college classmate, to move to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, to teach at a one-room Adventist school.  Elder Tony Kaytor, President of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, recognized huge potential in the young Allen Fowler and invited him to establish a nursing home in Swift Current and then another in Sherwood Park, Alberta, which opened in 1969.  Allen soon became the Administrator and remained so until 1986.

During his administrative years he exercised his leadership ability in a number of organizations including:  President of the Edmonton Progressive Extended Care Association, President of the Alberta Nursing Home Committee, President of the Edmonton Regional Hospital Conference, President of the Greater Edmonton Long-Term Care Association, and Board Member of the Alberta Hospital Association.  He was appointed by the Minister of Health to the Edmonton & Area Hospital Advisory Council and served as a member of the Home Care Advisory Committee to the Leduc-Strathcona Health Unit. He was an active member of the Edmonton-Strathcona Rotary Club and was a certified member of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives.

After 17 years in Sherwood Park, Allen and Airlie set out on a new adventure when Allen accepted the position of Administrator of Karachi Adventist Hospital.  Four years later they moved to Botswana, where Allen was appointed the Administrator of Kanye Adventist Hospital.  While leading these two hospitals he demonstrated an ability to provide inspired management through perseverance and a strong faith in God.  These traits led ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) to name him the Country Director for Zambia.  The need for a tough frugal leader at Mwami Adventist Hospital in northern Zambia gave Allen his last responsibility overseas.

Another full circle moment in Allen’s life occurred in 1998 when he returned to Saskatchewan, where his Adventist Church service had begun.  He served four years as the Administrator of Sunnyside Nursing Home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  In all, Allen devoted 37 years to the health care mission of the Adventist Church.  The Fowlers retired to Sherwood Park in 2002.

Over four decades Allen found calm and peace every summer on the back of a horse (first Chico and then Amigo) in the Rocky Mountains with family and friends.  Well remembered are Bill Olson, Les Neal and Bob Strand, his closest trail riding buddies.  They rode a 200 mile circuit in Banff National Park, enjoying many evenings by the campfire sharing cowboy stories.

Allen is survived by his wife Airlie, daughters Lorna (Robin Brekkas) of Ft. St. John, B.C., Barbara (Gerald Chipeur) of Calgary, Alberta, and Vivian (David Grinde) of Holden, Alberta, granddaughters Krista, Erica (Derek Broomfield), Stephanie, Lauren (Ryan Russell), Leanne (Jeff Ball), great-grandsons Jettsyn and Kashten Ball, twin brother Albert Fowler and nephew Stan Fowler.  

The distinctive figure of Allen Fowler in a black Stetson will no longer grace this earth as he is asleep in Jesus awaiting the resurrection morning.

A Celebration of Life for Allen Fowler will be held Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at the Sherwood Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, 120 Festival Way, Sherwood Park, Alberta.  Reception and refreshments provided in Church Fellowship Hall following the service.  For more information please contact Vivian 780-781-7437.

Allen's Celebration of Life service will be recorded and can be viewed via the Church's YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChmWnTCXfuMnNPKInvtFrtg

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Sherwood Care, the long-term care facility Allen built over 50 years ago in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

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