William "Bill" C. Allen, Jr.

William “Bill” C. Allen, Jr. , 78, of Martinez, Georgia and formerly of Chesterland, Ohio, passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer on June 20, 2026. Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

He is preceded in death by his parents, William Allen Sr. and Mary Lee Allen. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Janet (Koberna) Allen, daughters, Amanda (Chris) of Kissimmee, FL and Melinda (Josh) of Evans, GA; grandchildren, Alyssa and Alexis, Nathan and Lucas; and brother, Robert (Cathy) Allen of Beaumont, CA.

Bill was a graduate of Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio. After high school, Bill joined the U.S. Army and served 3 years with a tour in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star. After the Army, Bill joined the East Cleveland Police Department, and together he and his partner Dave served the city for 10 years. During his tenure with the police department, Bill helped create the Cuyahoga Regional Information System (C.R.I.S) which connected many of the 157 police departments in Northeast Ohio and he left the police force to become Director of C.R.I.S. before retiring in 1999. Bill’s first love was always police work and he continued as a police officer part time for Chagrin Falls Ohio Police Department, having served a total of 33 years in law enforcement.

Bill’s love of playing baseball extended into coaching numerous teams over the years including both of his daughter’s softball teams, and coaching the local community boys baseball teams. Bill also played and managed for 20+ years with the Roy Hobbs Baseball League. Many of the league players that Bill managed have gone on to play in the All Mighty League. His other great love of sports was cheering on his Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns, and The Ohio State Buckeyes.

In 2022, Bill moved to Martinez, Georgia to be near his daughters and grandkids. During his time in Georgia, Bill joined American Legion Post 192 and was appointed as Adjutant. As Adjutant, Bill was instrumental in policy changes which made the Legion non-smoking and built a four season gazebo to accommodate the smokers. He created a recognition ceremony each year to honor long time members.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 18 at noon at American Legion Post 192 in Evans, Georgia.

Memorial donations may be made to American Legion Post 192, 275 Legion Road, Evans, GA 30809. https://algapost192.org/