Danny (Dan) Ray Allison

Danny (Dan) Ray Allison

Danny (Dan) Ray Allison, age 71, passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 1, 2021, while watching his wife of almost 50 years and grandson fishing on the dock at their Michigan lake cottage. Dan was a generous and caring man who was always willing to lend a hand, a tool, or his advice on the best way to complete a project. He taught his children and grandchildren that family is more than blood relation and the family he created survives him across the country.

Dan was born in Cadillac, Michigan on July 21, 1949, to Ray and Geraldine (Butler) Allison. He served in the United States Navy, stationed in Australia during the Vietnam War. Dan married Christine Crissman on August 21, 1971. He later obtained a bachelor’s degree in the field of forestry from Michigan State University.

In 1978, he and Christine moved from Michigan to Palmer, Alaska where they raised their two daughters. There, Dan joined the local volunteer fire department and remained active with them for 25 years. He retired from a career in Natural Resource Management with the state of Alaska in 1999.

After 36 years in Alaska, Dan and his wife returned to Michigan where they could be closer to their grandchildren. In the summers he spent his days with family at their cottage on Long Lake in Ionia County, Michigan where he loved swimming, fishing and playing with his grandsons. During winter, he and Chris lived in North Fort Myers, Florida where they enjoyed hosting parties and barbeques, and playing cards.

Dan was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He brought home moose and caribou to feed his family and was always trying to catch a bigger salmon or halibut than his girls. He loved brewing beer and bringing people together for meals. He was a craftsman who built structures from lumber cut with his sawmill that would withstand the strongest storm or earthquake. He was widely known in Palmer for his oyster and homebrew parties. He had a passion for cooking and had recently started curing and smoking delicious meats.

Dan’s family finds peace knowing that, although too soon, he left this earth the way he would have wanted to.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Christine (Crissman) Allison; his children, Brooke (Jon Stauffer) Allison, Danielle Yokom and her husband Scott, and bonus son Chad Yokom; grandsons, Ellis, Riley, and Owen Yokom (who adored their Papa Dan); brothers, William Floyd Allison, Kenneth Allison, and Randy Allison; his sister-in-law, L. Kay Asiala; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Salvation Army. A celebration of life will be held later in the summer. Arrangements in care of Lake Funeral Home of Ionia. Online condolences may be made at www.lakefuneralhomes.com