Dr Allen Alderman

Funeral services for 92-year old Dr Allen J Alderman of Chadron, NE, will be Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 10:00 AM at the United Methodist Church in Chadron, Nebraska.

Burial will be in the Greenwood Cemetery.

A memorial has been established for the Ridgeview Country Club or Chadron State Foundation. Donations may be sent in care of Chamberlain Chapel, PO Box 970, Chadron, NE 69337.

Online condolences may be left at www.chamberlainchapel.com

Allen J Alderman was born in Omaha, NE, November 17, 1928 and passed away peacefully on May 25, 2021, in Rapid City, SD.

Allen was adopted from the Nebraska Children’s Home Society on Sept 28, 1929, by Earl and Pearl Alderman of Chadron. Earl, a WWI veteran, worked for the United States Postal Service and Pearl was a well-known cook and baker in the Chadron area.

Allen was soon joined by a little sister, Margaret. He attended Chadron Public Schools and participated in sports before graduating from Chadron High School in May of 1946.

With his friend, Gene Drake, he enlisted in the US Army two weeks after graduation and proceeded to Korea. He was trained as a Medic, from which he acquired his passion for the medical field and helping others.

Allen returned to Chadron in the fall of 1948 and began attending Chadron State College on the GI Bill. He met Shirley Mae Alcorn of Hay Springs, NE, and they were married in June 1950. Allen always felt privileged to have become a part of the Alcorn family.

In an unusual turn of events, Allen was accepted into the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s MD program during his junior year, so he and Shirley moved to Omaha.

Their first son, Greg, was born while Allen was in medical school while daughter Karen was born during his internship in Ainsworth.

Allen graduated as a Medical Doctor in 1954 and was commissioned as a Captain in the United States Air Force, where he served 3 years as a Flight Surgeon in Denver, CO; Great Falls, MT; and Fairbanks, AK.

After the Air Force, the family moved back to Chadron and he began his 4 decade-long career as a family physician. Sons Brent and Jay were born in Chadron.

Allen served as a family doctor in Chadron for 40 years, delivering over 3,000 babies before retiring in 1996.

Allen believed that his hometown was the greatest place in the world and he sought to be involved in making his community a better place. He was a member of the United Methodist Church and greatly enjoyed his time with the men of the church.

He served for many years as the team physician for football and the Nebraska High School Rodeo competitions. 

Allen was elected as a member of the Chadron Board of Education for several terms and was the board president when the new high school was built. He also served as the Mayor of Chadron.

While not actually a graduate of Chadron State College, having left as a junior to attend medical school, he served on the Chadron State Foundation Board in an effort to continually grow the institution and maintain its excellence.

Allen was an avid sportsman and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and golfing. With other leaders, he helped develop the Chadron community golf course at the Ridgeview Country Club and participated in planting many of the trees we see today.

He enjoyed his places at Lake Angostura, taking his grandchildren boating and teaching them to play many different board and card games. Allen was a competitor and loved to win, whether it be playing pool or ping-pong.

In 2017, Allen was able to discover that he had three brothers and two sisters from his birth-parents. During his illness, he was able to meet his brothers, Tom and George Gibbons and Tom Heuer, who live in Minnesota. They made several trips to Rapid City to visit him, which he greatly appreciated.

Allen was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Mae, in 1998, his sister, Margaret and her husband, Tim, all of his Alcorn brothers and sisters-in-law, and his grandson, Michael Horse.

He is survived by his children: Greg (Kaye) of Phoenix, AZ; Karen (Bill) of Sidney, NE; Brent, of Phoenix, AZ; and Jay (Penny), of Rapid City, SD; nine grandchildren, Lisa, Bryan, Sean, Ryan, Edward, Jennifer, Alexandra, and Jacob. He was also blessed with three great-grandchildren: Sydney Horse, Autumn and Eleanor Mae Sydow.