' He made you joyful when you were with him'

Kip Allen, former KHFM-FM radio host, star and University of Albuquerque theater instructor, looking pensive in a photo taken about 2010. Allen passed away in April after living for several years with Parkinson's illness. (Courtesy of Roxanne Allen).
It was predawn dark on a day in November 2004, and I was at Albuquerque's symphonic music radio station, KHFM-FM (95.5 ), then located at 4125 Carlisle Blvd.

NE. In those days, I was a reporter for The Albuquerque Tribune and I was dealing with a story about KHFM's 50th anniversary.

As I sat quietly nearby, pen and note pad in hand, Kip Allen, at the time KHFM's program director and morning-show host, spoke gently into the microphone "as if it were the ear of a wife he was waking with whispers.".

" Good early morning. The time, five minutes before 6 o'clock. Time to join our birds.".

Recorded calls from geese and cranes at Bosque del Apache spilled out of radios in Albuquerque and other parts of the state, kicking off KHFM's day at that time, simply as bird songs continue to do at the station now.

As the bird sounds declined on that 2004 morning, Allen's relaxing voice went back to the air waves.

Veterans Day. I discovered a trembling in Allen's hand as he set some CDs aside.

" I've got Parkinson's," he said.

After several years of withstanding the disease with style and guts, Allen died last month. He was 78.

Survivors consisted of Roxanne, his other half of 56 years; their child, Jesse; daughter-in-law Irene; and grandchildren Ryan and Genevieve.

" Kip personified having a good friend on the radio to drive together with you, or to be with you while you were making breakfast in the kitchen area," stated Mike Langner, previous KHFM basic manager. "He had a remarkable ability to make his humanness and spirit come out of the speaker. It resembled having Uncle Kip there with an armload of records.".

Enjoyable, silly, kind.

Allen, whose father remained in the U.S. foreign service, grew up in Virginia, Denmark and Ecuador. His mother was a painter, an accomplished flutist and likewise played cello and, later in life, jazz piano.

" My moms and dads' house, particularly in Denmark, became sort of a meeting place for painters and musicians-- Niels Bohr, the (Danish) physicist, was a friend of the household-- and everybody would sort of simply drop in," Allen told me throughout an interview for a Tribune piece in 1991.

Roxanne, Allen's spouse, said famed cellist Pablo Casals wrote a musical piece for Allen's mother.

But as a child, Allen himself enjoyed rock music and played the drums.

" He knew every word to every '50s rock ‘‘ n' roll song, "stated Lindy Gold, former KHFM promos director and Allen's good friend.

Allen got a bachelor's in English literature from Swarthmore (Pa.) College and a master's in theater from the University of California at Davis.

Roxanne met him at Swarthmore when they were both cast in a college theater production.

" His first words to me were, ‘‘ Hi, there. I'm your partner,'" Roxanne said. He was referring to their functions in the play, however Roxanne said that at the time she was switched off by the remark. She got over it.

" He was enjoyable," she stated. "He could be silly, but you understood there was more to him than that. He was kind.".

Kip Allen seems listening intently to companions in this 2022 photo. The previous KHFM-FM radio is host is kept in mind by buddies as someone who cared deeply about individuals. (Courtesy of Roxanne Allen).
The Allens transferred to Albuquerque in 1973 and Kip taught theater at the University of Albuquerque from 1973 to 1983. He acted and directed in plays at U of A and likewise appeared in productions with the New Mexico Repertory Theatre.

Among his favorite functions was that of the vain and absurd Sir Andrew Aguecheek in a New Mexico Rep production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night.".

" He had an incredible memory for lines of plays he did. Even late in life," Roxanne stated. "One of the last things he stated in the healthcare facility was from Shakespeare.".

Empty chair.

Allen worked for KHFM for more than 20 years, leaving the station in 2008.

" I just knew every time I turned the radio on and Kip was on, I was going to take pleasure in the music," Langner stated. "He wasn't about musical workouts, and he was not out to show you how much he understood. He wished to play the music individuals taken pleasure in.".

He said the morning birds were Allen's concept.

" He seemed to think it was a great concept, and the audience enjoyed it," Langner stated.

Allen had a knack for getting in touch with others, even complete strangers.

" When we would do radio promotions and people he had actually never fulfilled came up to him, they were instant buddies," Langner stated. "He simply had a magnetic personality.".

David Oberg, who directed the late Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque for 29 years, met Allen not long after Kip joined KHFM.

" Kip and I might talk about symphonic music at length, although our backgrounds in the music were various," Oberg said. "He cared deeply about individuals and art and how they intersected, how art affected people at a really deep level. He was an organization and we became good friends. Kip and I and two other buddies would have coffee every third Saturday. Now, there's an empty chair.".

Gift of music.

Gold stated Allen had a amusing and impetuous nature.

" He would sing Irish drinking songs he knew," she said. "Once when we were waiting to be seated at a restaurant, he got into a soft shoe.".

She keeps in mind fondly the April Fool's Day programs Allen did at KHFM.

" He would play something by anybody who had actually done something funny," she stated. "One time he played a lady yodeling the classics-- for 3 hours.".

Gold and Allen created and worked together on KHFM's Music contributes program, which prompted listeners to donate functional however unused music instruments so they could be given to trainees who might not afford to acquire instruments.

" Kip actually came alive doing something musical, something for the kids," Gold stated.

Pamela Chavez said Allen and Gold, looking for funds to fix a few of those instruments, approached her when she was vice president of community and public relations at Wells Fargo.

" We were thrilled to support such an amazing job," she stated. Chavez remembered the day the instruments were collected at the American Home Furniture parking area at Carlisle and Menaul.

" KHFM listeners not only brought their instruments, but also fish stories of their cherished pieces and their own musical backgrounds," she stated. "Kip's mild spirit, love of sharing music and large pleasure at watching the synergy shone throughout it all.".

A joyful life.

Roxanne stated that recently, even as Parkinson's tightened its grip on his life, Kip enjoyed woodworking.

" He enjoyed putting oil on wood and seeing it come alive," she said. He made lots of cutting boards for good friends.

Oberg stated that when his yard gate fell apart, Allen showed up.

" He revealed me how to do all these things, and we-- mainly Kip-- developed my gate back.".

There will be a gathering commemorating Allen's life at 6 p.m. June 12, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Go to salazarfunerals.com for information.

" I will keep in mind how gracefully and with excellent humor he handled his illness even as it advanced," Oberg stated.

Gold said Allen was much like his early morning KHFM program, "A Joyful Noise.".

" I never ever saw him have a bad day," she stated. "Even when his Parkinson's was advanced, he 'd state, ‘‘ I am not going to let it specify who I am.' He made you cheerful when you were with him.".