Chris Allen was a modern-day Renaissance man: a person with an insatiable interest in acquiring knowledge and the talent to put that knowledge to good use.

"I don't think he ever realized how much of an impact he had on people. He was just so much fun to be around — he made people feel good about themselves," said Marsha Caserio of Flat Rock, N.C., sister-in-law to Allen's wife, Rebecca Caserio.

Chris M. Allen, medical internist for more than 30 years, an avid golfer and certified golf club maker who held three patents for golf club shaft technology, died Friday, April 9, 2010, of a pulmonary embolism. He was 60.

"He always was very loving toward his patients and to his friends," said Rebecca Caserio, a dermatologist. The two would have been married 32 years this Thursday.

"He always said medicine wasn't a career — it was a calling," Caserio said.

Dr. Allen was born in New Kensington on May 12, 1949, son of Max and Lois Allen of Greensburg. He was a 1967 graduate of Hempfield High School and graduated cum laude from St. Vincent College in 1971. He attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, graduating cum laude in 1975.

While in medical school, he was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received the Memorial Prize and the Brinton Prize for most outstanding medical student.

From 1975 to 1978, he was a medical resident in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Hospital and chief medical resident in his last year. From 1978 to 1993, he practiced medicine at St. Margaret Hospital, near Aspinwall, with Medical Associates of Western Pennsylvania. Since 1993, Dr. Allen had practiced at Shadyside Hospital with the Shadyside Medical Group.

He was a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physician Executives. He served on numerous hospital committees throughout his career.

Dr. Allen's other passion was golf. He was a member of Oakmont Country Club for more than 20 years and a collector of Scotty Cameron putters, which are used by many top professional golfers. As a certified golf club maker, he held three patents for golf shaft technology. One was for a method of drilling out less than 5 grams of metal from the interior of a shaft to improve its "feel" when striking a ball, while retaining the shaft's flexibility and durability.

"He was a golf devotee to an extreme," Caserio said. "He was an eight handicapper at Oakmont, he knew the physics of the golf swing and he was a certified club maker, although it only was a hobby."

Dr. Allen was an accomplished pianist in several music genres and a 1920s-1930s jazz aficionado. He was a history buff, with a collection of Franklin D. Roosevelt memorabilia and rare books. He loved Boston terriers.

Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. today and 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at John A. Freyvogel Sons Inc., 4900 Centre Ave. at Devonshire Street. A blessing service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland.

The family asks that memorial donations be to the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, 6620 Hamilton Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 or the Shadyside Hospital Foundation, 532 S. Aiken Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)