Allen Paul Neely

Born in Altoona, Allen spent an idyllic childhood roaming Hollidaysburg’s Brush Mountain, where as an only child he “collected friends” who became lifelong brothers.

He is survived by his parents, Donald Lynn Neely and Carolyn Jane (Caltabaugh) Neely of Hollidaysburg; wife, Kimberly Ann (Cook) Neely of State College; and daughters, Julia Rachel Neely of Boston, Mass., and Sarah Pearle Neely of Arlington, Va. Allen’s sisters- and brothers-in-law, nephews and his niece meant the world to him. His wide circle of friends, including the aptly named Cheers, Gears and Beers mountain biking group, McQuaide Blasko coworkers and neighbors enriched his life beyond measure.

Allen was a gifted high school student and talented athlete, attending Shippensburg University in 1984, where he studied finance and management and was a member of the honors program. From Shippensburg, he entered the Dickinson School of Law and was part of the advocacy program, Appellate Moot Court Board, was associate editor of the Dickinson Journal of International Law, completed an internship with the Office of the United States Attorney in Harrisburg and participated in the European Summer Seminar in Strasbourg and Vienna. He was awarded a juris doctorate in 1992 in a graduation ceremony that was presided over by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Allen was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1992. Soon after, he joined the law firm of Jubelirer, Carothers, Krier and Halpern in Hollidaysburg as an associate attorney.

In August 1995, Allen was recruited by John Blasko to join the State College law firm of McQuaide Blasko and became a shareholder in 2008. He specialized in civil litigation, professional negligence defense, education law, labor and employment and construction law. He was a certified pro bono mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and served as an adjunct professor for the Penn State Dickinson School of Law advocacy program. Allen handled litigation matters in over 25 counties and appeared before the Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts as well as federal court in the middle and western districts of Pennsylvania. He retired from McQuaide Blasko in 2024.

Happiest on a single-track mountain biking trail, tailgating outside Beaver Stadium or snuggled on the couch with his girls, Allen loved his life and valued togetherness. Annual trips to the Outer Banks and large holiday gatherings with extended family gave Allen opportunities to showcase his skills at music mixes and game nights. His daughters picked up his penchant for quirky trivia, his remarkable vocabulary and inherited his adventurous spirit.

Allen believed that there was adventure hidden everywhere. Spring break trips with the family always included a solo mountain biking excursion. Consequently, Allen saw parts of Jamaica, Costa Rica and Hawaii his family didn’t experience. While studying abroad during law school, Allen joined in the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, and a chunk he brought home became interesting show-and-tell material for Julia and Sarah. He organized the group beer sampling while traveling the Danube with friends on a river cruise; went skydiving with his sisters-in-law; fished for salmon in Alaska; took Kim on a cross-country camping trip; and delighted in four-wheeling with his nephews and niece over the dunes of the Outer Banks.

From coaching soccer — a game he never played — to attending the YMCA’s Annual Daddy Daughter Dance, Allen did almost anything for his two girls: dressing up with Sarah for Halloween as Elwood to her Jake; building a bat box with the girls after a trip to Shaver’s Creek; playing hours upon hours of Super Mario with Julia; and pretending not to like every pet they ever brought home.

Allen lived his life with humility, sincerity and, during the past eight years, with courage. He didn’t complain. His friends uplifted him. Allen was a full collaborator and innovator with his excellent care teams in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York until the end of his life.

We are better for having had Allen in our lives. We will miss him deeply.

A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 20, 2026, at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., State College.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21, 2026, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 250 E. College Ave., State College. A reception will follow at Axemann Brewery, 2042 Axemann Road, Bellefonte.

Memorial contributions may be made to Nittany Mountain Biking Association, P.O. Box 1215, State College, PA 16804 (nittanymba.org); or Kesem at Penn State (Central PA), P.O. Box 891, State College, PA 16801 (donate.kesem.org/team/772431).

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