Joseph Van Allen

Joe Van Allen, 63, passed away peacefully at 5:31 the morning of May 1, 2026 surrounded by his loving family. He was born September 26, 1962, just 4 minutes after his twin brother, John, to Bill and Sally (Holden) Van Allen. 

Joe fought the good fight for 2 and 1/2 years against Glioblastomas (brain cancer), living over one year beyond expectancy. He is survived by his lovely wife, Kris (Huber) Van Allen. They were High School sweethearts, having their first date at a Sadie Hawkins dance in 1980, and were married April 25, 1987. They shared a life together for 46 years and were married for 39 years. Joe and Kris were blessed with sons Eric and Alex, daughter Grace (Van Allen) McCoy, son-in-law Damian McCoy, and treasured grandson, Robin Henry McCoy. Joe is also survived by sister Nancy (Van Allen) Sarno and husband Greg Sarno, and brothers Ray (Cathey) Van Allen, Rick (Laurie) Van Allen, and identical twin brother John (Leanne) Van Allen. In-law family are sister-in-law Monica (Huber) Muscato and husband Paul Muscato, and father-in-law John Huber. Joe is preceded in death by his parents Bill and Sally Van Allen, and mother-in-law Sonia Huber.

 A graduate of Hudson High School in Hudson, Wisconsin and Dunwoody Institute in St Paul, Minnesota, Joe worked for a variety of companies honing his drafting, engineering, design, and sales skills, landing at 3M as a sales engineer of Fiber Optic products. When his division at 3M was sold to Corning Inc, Joe became a star sales engineer, with AT&T as his sole customer, in multiple west coast states. He traveled the world in his sales position; everywhere Joe went, he made close friends that he treasured. 

A joy-filled man, Joe responded most often with “just dandy!” when asked how he was doing. And he was right…he was just dandy, with a full and giving heart.

 Celebration of life will be held in Hudson, Wisconsin, a visitation on Thursday June 18, 2026 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm, with a time of sharing stories and a prayer starting at 6:30 p.m. at O’Connell Family Funeral Home, 520 11th Street South. A family burial will be on Friday, June 19, and a memorial gathering at The Village Inn, 723 6th St N. from 4:00 - 8:00 pm on Friday. 

In lieu of flowers, Joe asked that donations be made to a charity that touches your heart.