September 30, 1961 – February 14, 2026
WILMINGTON — Robert Francis Allan of Wilmington, NC, passed away on February 14, 2026 at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX after a valiant 30-year battle with cancer.
Born September 30, 1961 in Syracuse New York, Rob was a husband, engaged father, beloved brother to four sisters, and a friend to many.
He touched the lives of many with his goofy sense of humor, warmth, creativity, curiosity, and gregarious, outgoing nature. He was always connecting with people and making new friends. He possessed a brilliant mind, disarming wit, and an empathetic heart. Rob had a rare gift of building community wherever he found himself.
Rob is survived by his wife, Sharon Ann Stone Allan; sons Michael David Allan and Ryan James Allan; sisters Cathy White, Debby Allan, and Barby Bridges; sister in-laws Debbie Potter, Jennifer Stone, and Kathy Stone; brother in-laws Robert Potter, Eugene Stone, Steven Stone, John Stone, Don White, Bob Flynn and Pat Bridges. Rob is also survived by several loving nieces and nephews.
Rob was proceeded in death by his parents Dorothy (mother) & Edwin Allen (stepfather), Harold Allan (father), Betsy Flynn(sister) as well as daughter Sarah Elizabeth Allan.
Rob exceled academically. He was his high school’s valedictorian. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and on the Dean’s List from the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering. He went on to graduate with a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of SC (Columbia, SC) and also earned a second Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State (Raleigh, NC). Rob also worked 10 years on a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State before he decided to pursue other challenges in life. Rob played on the University of Florida Golf team and exceled in many sports. He was also a gifted musician, playing multiple instruments, and attended University of Florida on music scholarship.
Rob had a successful 38-year career at IBM which enabled him to travel the world and work in multiple divisions of IBM. Throughout his years of service, Rob had experience leading teams and contributing to the company’s success as an individual contributor. In 1999, Rob was on an IBM team which received the Franz Edelman Award. This annual award is the world’s top honor for excellence in operations research and analytics and recognizes teams for projects that transform data into insights, yielding significant, measurable improvements in organizational efficiency. The team received this award for their global supply chain work to improve customer responsiveness with minimal inventory.
Rob could reach people in very rare, vulnerable, and tender ways. His favorite job was his last where he made sure IBM clients got the most value from their software purchases.
On a personal note; from his earliest days, Rob exceled in many areas including sports, music, acting, reading, and writing. He set goals for himself each year: spiritual, physical, and educational. He would review them at year end to hold himself accountable to them. He was an over achiever. Blessed with many personal gifts, Rob didn’t seem to grasp that he was blessed with those gifts and sleeping only 4-5 hours a night and pursuing multiple goals during the day was not normal for other people. Despite being so busy, and with little sleep, most people would describe him as someone who always had a smile on his face.
Rob was competitive and loved to win, usually coming in first in the annual Stone Family Thanksgiving Day street foot race. He loved winning at Trivial Pursuit, board games, and card games or just about any other competition.
Rob gave his life to the Lord in 1983 and was a servant in various churches during his life. It always came easy to him to share his faith with others. He enjoyed children and served in Children’s church for over 13 years. In addition, Rob served in Adult Small Groups for over 30 years.
Rob was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins B-cell follicular cancer in 1996. In the past 30 years, Rob underwent a variety of Chemotherapy Treatments (IV and oral), numerous rounds of radiation, and three bone marrow transplants. Rob battled multiple cancers: Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Diffuse Large B-cell, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Erythroid Leukemia, Melanoma, Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Rob’s final battle was with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. As a result of his cancers, he was susceptible to blood clots and was hospitalized for two Deep Vein Thrombosis and one Pulmonary Embolism. Through the years, many people didn’t know Rob was battling cancer because he never let it rule his life. However, in the last few years, as cancer treatments dominated his daily schedule, more people recognized the battle Rob was trying to win. Our beloved husband, father, brother, and friend is finally at Peace after this long and challenging journey.
A celebration of Rob’s life will be held on March 14, 2026, at 9:30am at Saltbox Church located at 3233 Burnt Mill Drive, Suite 1, Wilmington, NC 28403. A reception will follow at the Helmsport Clubhouse located at 5820 Harbor Breeze Dr., Wilmington, NC.
We invite family and friends to join us in remembering and celebrating Rob’s life with joy and thanksgiving, remembering the positive impact he made on others.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to his church, Saltbox Church, as a memorial contribution for the church’s building fund. Please select “Building Fund” and in the message section, state “For Rob Allan.”
