Albert Easley Allen, Jr.
Geologist, Casper College Professor, Tate Museum Curator, and Pastor at Paradise Valley Christian Church in Casper, Wyoming.
Early Life, Army Service & Scientific Career
Born in Enid, Oklahoma on September 23, 1930, Albert Easley Allen, Jr. earned his Bachelor of Arts at Phillips University—where he met and married his beloved wife of 64 years, Kitty Ree—before earning his Master of Science degree at the University of Oklahoma.
Al served two years in the United States Army Corps of Engineers in San Francisco. Following his military service, he devoted over three decades to earth sciences as a professional geologist—working 14 years with Shell Oil Company and 21 years with Kirkwood Oil & Gas.
His passion for education led him to Casper College, where he taught geology for 37 years, served as a curator for the Tate Geological Museum, instructed in K.E.Y. for 15 years, and earned three public awards for excellence in teaching.
Ministry & Community Service
Parallel to his scientific career, Al was an ordained minister and long-time leader at Paradise Valley Christian Church in Casper, Wyoming. Serving as minister, elder, and teacher, he was actively involved in missions, youth ministry, evangelism, music, and Boy Scouts.
He co-founded and taught at Paradise Valley Christian School, served on the board of the Youth Crisis Center for 15 years, and provided spiritual guidance as a Natrona County Deputy Sheriff's Chaplain at the jail for 20 years.
Family & Heritage
Al was married for 64 devoted years to his wife, Kitty Ree. Preceded in death by Kitty Ree, he is survived by his brother, Jerry Pat Allen (Point Lookout, MO); his four children: Deb White (Salinas, CA), Annie Miller (Kansas City, MO), Sallie Erickson (Casper, WY), and Pat Allen (Casper, WY); along with 15 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and a wide host of extended family, church members, and former students.
The Sundance Formation Connection
As both a professional geologist and a pastor, Al often drew hand-drawn black and white geological cross-sections tracing the sedimentary strata of Wyoming—specifically the Sundance Formation. To him, the unyielding rock layers laid down over time were a testament to the unchanging truth of Scripture.
When a basement flood threatened a box of original cassette tape recordings from his decades at Paradise Valley Christian Church, his grandson, Bradley Erickson, rescued and digitized the recordings. Today, Sundance Formation preserves Albert Allen's sermons and published writings for future generations.