Lawrence Wayne "Lon" Allan 1939-2026

By Atascadero News · Thu Apr 23 2026

Long-time local journalist and historian L.W. Allan passed away on April 11, 2026.

Lawrence Wayne "Lon" Allan was born July 3, 1939, in Riverside. He grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, graduating from Selma High School with the class of 1957 where he was active in FFA, speech club and served as student body president.

Lon earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Cal Poly in 1961 and later a Master's in Education. He went to the US Naval Officers’ Candidate's school in 1962, wherein he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Reserves. As a Junior Naval Officer, he served for three years from 1962 to 1965 on ship and shore commands. His final duty station was as a lieutenant on the staff of an Assault Craft Squadron. He was what the Navy called a “Gator Sailor", which consisted of amphibious warfare.

Since moving to Atascadero in 1966, Lon has spent more than half a century contributing to the community. He was the editor of the Atascadero News for more than 34 years. Later, he became both the president and historian for the Atascadero Historical Society, playing a key role in preserving and sharing the town's rich history. He was also a director on the board of Atascadero Kiwanis Club, and a past president of the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce. He held memberships with Atascadero Printery Foundation and Estrella Warbird's Museum. He taught English, journalism, and speech at Atascadero High School for six years before joining the crew at the Atascadero News. His Advanced Speech Class students produced a weekly 15-minute radio show, "Sounds of the Hounds" that aired on KPRL.

Lon authored three books, focusing on Atascadero’s colorful history. The first, "Atascadero: The Vision of One - The Work of Many", "Atascadero's Historic Business District" and "AHS first 100 Years” (The history of Atascadero High School).

He was proud to have helped the Atascadero News for over three decades be "the newspaper that people read". He said the publishers' goal was that every local kid would get his/her picture in the newspaper sometime between kindergarten and their senior year in high school. His weekly column "Along the King's Highway," ran in the local paper for three decades and for another ten years in the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

He was honored as citizen of the year by the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce, holds a William A. Dunlap fellowship and a Walter Zeller fellowship from Kiwanis International, recognizing extraordinary community service, the E.G. Lewis award of excellence and the Marjorie Mackey award of Continuing Excellence named in honor of the founder of the Atascadero Historical Society (Mackey). He was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship from Atascadero Rotary Club. The Atascadero Fire Department honored him with a custom-made fire helmet with the word PRESS emblazoned on the front for his many years working with fire personnel.

Lon found a great deal of pleasure in woodworking. He turned his passion for working with wood into building scale model WWII naval vessels that are now on permanent display at the Estrella Warbird Museum, the museum at Camp Roberts and the Veterans Museum in San Luis Obispo. He also spent over 20 years restoring a 1946 Willy's Jeep, which provided him years of pleasure, driving it in local parades, participating in various car shows and giving historic tours of Atascadero to friends and family.

In September 2025, Lon was named Kiwanian of the Year by the Atascadero Club and they recently created the Lon Allan Academic Scholarship for high school students of outstanding citizenship and academic caliber to honor the 40+ years he spent educating others within the community.

Lon was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen. He is survived by his daughter, Janet Smith, her husband Mark, and their children Joshua and Grace; his daughter Ginger Allan and her daughter Sterling; his stepchildren Tommy Mayfield his wife Wendy and their children Charenne, Brittney, and Bailee plus four great grandkids; Mike Mayfield and his wife Yvette and their children Allsion, Jared, Jason, and Zach plus 7 great grandkids; Shannon Cheatley and her son Tyler. He is also survived by his brother Eddy Allan, of Woodland, California.

In lieu of flowers, to honor his life and legacy, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Atascadero Kiwanis Club, an organization that does work that was important to him.

Atascadero Kiwanis

In memory of Lon Allan

P.O. Box 370 Atascadero Ca 93423

A memorial service to celebrate his life and legacy will be held at a later date.