Allen Nelson Fitchen

Madison - Allen Nelson Fitchen, retired Director of The University of Wisconsin Press (1982-1998) and former Senior Editor at The University of Chicago Press (1967-1982), died on Christmas Day, 2009 at HospiceCare in Fitchburg, WI. He died after a 16-year battle with lung cancer. He was 73.

Allen, known to many as Skip, grew up in Hamilton, N.Y., where his father, John Frederick Fitchen, was Professor of Fine Arts at Colgate University. His mother, Elizabeth Nelson Fitchen, was an active participant in civic organizations and government. In his youth Allen was active in the Boy Scouts and in high school sports and drama. While growing up in Hamilton he developed lifelong interests in the outdoorsin particular, bird-watchingand travel, making several extended tours of Europe both alone and with his family.

 

After graduating from Hamilton High School in 1954, Allen continued his education at Amherst College, graduating cum laude in 1958. At Amherst he majored in English Literature and was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. After Amherst, Allen taught English for a year at Mount Hermon, a prep school in Greenfield, MA, and subsequently attended Cornell University, receiving a master's degree in English in 1960. He was hired by Macmillan publishing company as a college textbook salesman in Ohio, and was later promoted to college textbook editor. In 1967, he joined the University of Chicago Press as Humanities Editor.

 

Allen met his first wife, Jane Cady, while still at Amherst. They were married in 1959 and were soon busy raising a family together when Anne (1960), Christopher (1962), and William (1965) were born. The family enjoyed vacationing on Cape Cod, at the Indiana Dunes, and in Michigan. After a flurry of moves early in his career, Allen and Jane settled in Chicago in 1967.

 

Allen enjoyed a long and fruitful career in scholarly publishing, advancing to Senior Editor at Chicago and then to Director of the University of Wisconsin Press in 1982. He made significant additions to the book lists of both presses. He may be best remembered for his role in bringing into print the popular fictional work ""A River Runs Through It"", written by Norman Maclean. This was the first work of fiction ever published by the University of Chicago Press. For Allen, the most fulfilling aspect of his work was the opportunity to meet and correspond with so many extraordinary people.

 

After his divorce in 1986, Allen married Shirley J. Bergen, a Wisconsin native, in 1988. Allen and Shirley enjoyed exploring the ""blue highways"" of America. They took several long driving trips each year, often visiting family or friends. Allen chronicled many of these trips in albums filled with photos taken by Shirley. After his retirement in 1998, their destinations expanded to include Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, France, and Oman. Allen was an active volunteer for the Badger Chapter of the American Red Cross, delivering blood to area hospitals and authoring a training manual. He also led bird-walks for Madison-area school groups.

 

Allen is survived by his wife, Shirley J. Bergen, of Madison, WI; his former wife, Jane Cady Fitchen of Fitchburg, WI; his brother John Fitchen, M.D., of Portland, OR; his daughter Anne Fitchen Currier, of Rochester, MN; sons Christopher, of Evanston, IL, and William, of The Woodlands, TX; his step-daughter Eleni Otto, of Corrales, NM; and six grandchildren. The family is profoundly grateful for the help and compassion of many neighbors, friends, caregivers and medical personnel. In accordance with Allen's wishes, there will be no service. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Allen's memory may be made to the American Red Cross or HospiceCare, Inc., 5395 E. Cheryl Pkwy., Madison, WI 53711.