Wilfred P. ALLARD

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Wilfred P. Allard, of Falls Church and retired foreign service officer, died after a short illness on October 5, 2005 at the Capital Hospice in Arlington, Va. He was 92 years old. A native of Cohoes, N.Y., Allard attended the precursor of the State University of New York at Albany and was an instructor there after a stint at the Walden and East Hampton High Schools. He did graduate work in romance languages at McGill and Cornell Universities. He served with military intelligence before joining the State Department in 1944. He had assignments as vice consul in Panama and Lima, and as assistant cultural attache in Paris and Buenos Aires. In Washington, he became desk officer at the State Department and USIA. He served as cultural attache at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at Saigon, Vietnam, and in Vientiane, Laos, retiring in December 1972. After retirement, he accompanied official visitors on tours of the United States for nine years as escort-interpreter for French and Spanish speakers. He was a member of the American Foreign Service Association, the Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired and the Knights of Columbus. He was active at St. Anthony's Church, Falls Church and at Dominican Retreat House, McLean. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Constance Tessier Allard; sons, Paul F. Allard, Springfield, Va., Donald C. Allard, Albany, N.Y. and William A. Allard, Santa Barbara, Calif.; and by daughter, Michele Higginbotham, Ottawa, Canada. There are ten grandchildren. Allard also has a surviving sister, Alice Terry of Ellisville, Mo. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Alice Anne Hurd. A memorial Mass was held at St. Anthony Church, Falls Church, on October 10, 2005. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to Capital Hospice, Development Office, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 501, Falls Church, VA 22042, or Little Sisters of the Poor, 1503 Michael Road, Richmond, VA 23229-4899. Published in the Albany Times Union on 10/11/2005.