The California Homeopath
Journal of the California Homeopathic Medical Society

Allen was born in 1914 in Pandora, Ohio.  His father was a family homeopathic physician who greatly influenced him. He said: 

“My dad received training in Cleveland Ohio about homeopathy. It is interesting that his medical training was at Cleveland Pulte. It was a homeopathic medical college that did homeopathic training. It later became a part of Case Western Reserve College which later became part of Ohio State University.”

Allen obtained his medical degree from Ohio State University in 1942, where he met and married his first wife, Georgianna (d. 10/2000). From 1943-1945 he served as a battalion surgeon in France where he loss his hearing in the lef t ear secondary to explosions of weaponry.  He joined the Health Department of Los Angeles County in 1945. They had two children, Paul (d. 32y of bone cancer), and Marcia, who became an advanced practice nurse in homeopathy (d. 09/2007).

In 1946, he attended the six weeks homeopathic physicians’ course in Boston, Massachusetts, the first one held after World War II. For thirty-five years his “day” job was as Medical Administrator of the Health Department Clinics in Whittier, CA, where he was responsible for the establishment of a Child Guidance Clinic and a Blind Center Clinic and served on the Board until his last day. His evening and weekend hours were devoted to his homeopathic practice, which was managed in the very capable hands of his wife, Georgianna.

At the time of his starting that practice, there were fifteen homeopathic physicians practicing in Los Angeles. Among them were Dr. William Jackson of Brea and high potency practitioner Dr. Dwight Smith of Glendale, one time editor of the JAIH, and his son, Dr. Kent Smith, who had attended the same six-week course as the honoree. Already active in the Los Angeles Homeopathic Medical Society, he also became involved in the American Institute of Homeopathy in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

When it seemed that the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, the only national homeopathic journal at the time,would die on the vine, Allen and Georgianna stepped into the breach and took on its editorship, serving from 1968-77 and 1978-82.  

In 1950, he served on a committee with Drs. G. Kent Smith, Elizabeth Wright Hubbard, and Julia Minerva Green considering the matter of the establishment of a homeopathic specialty board. In 1960, the American Board of Homeotherapeutics was incorporated in the state of New York which continues to grant Diplomate status to successful candidates to this day.

It was indeed an honor to have Allen and Masie Panos interview me in my oral examination for the Diplomate [DHt] in 1978.

During the interview with his daughter, she asked:

Marcia: "You have spoken about Dr Julia Green being an influence in homeopathy. Tell me about her."

AN: "Dr. Julia Green practiced in Washington D.C. in the 1950's. She offered her home as a center for homeopathy in the United States. This then became the center for homeopathy after her death in the 1960's. She started the journal The Layman Speaks that ran for over 40 years as a method to help the layperson learn homeopathy.”

In 1974, he co-authored with Wyrth Post Baker, MD, DHt, and W. W. Young, MD, a textbook published by the AIH, Introduction to Homeotherapeutics. Besides serving for many years on the Board of the American Foundation for Homeopathy, another crucial contribution made by Allen, has been his twenty-seven plus years of service on the Board of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States, an American homeopathic pharmaceutical oversight organization with an international membership.

Marcia asked: "What are some changes that you have noticed in medicine?"

AN: “It seems like we're getting closer to state run medicine with the insurance companies and the requirements to document so much. This is a difference from when I began this practice.”

On June 17, 2004, Allen married Elrita B. Watson, RN, retired Assistant Nursing Director at LAC USC Medical Center.

Allen served on the California Homeopathic Medical Society Board of Directors for over 30 years. He was even able to go to the CHMS Board Meeting at the NCH Conference in Bellevue, Washington in March 2009. Please see the picture of Allen, Elrita, Sharon Stevenson, Nancy Gahles and others at the NCH Conference below.

Allen received many awards including, the Hahnemann Award presented by the American Institute of Homeopathy [AIH] both in 1969 and 1979 for his labor in the AIH.  The Southern Homeopathic Medical Association presented him their award for service in 2004. 

Conventional medicine also appreciated his efforts.  The University of Southern California School of Medicine presented him a Certificate for his support of the Salerni Collegium at the University of Southern California.  Salerni Collegium was founded in 1958. It was named for the Medical School of Salerno, Italy and plays a vital role in funding programs that assist the medical students financially, academically and professionally.  He also received recognition from the American Academy of Family Practice and the American Medical Association.

Allen's enthusiasm for homeopathy will always be a light for all of us.