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For over 20 years Lisa volunteered as an MIT Educational Councilor. In this role, she helped identify qualified students, encouraged talented students to apply, interviewed prospective students, and assisted students with their MIT applications. In the spring of this year, … Continue reading
Dear family and friends,
The fortieth day Requiem Service (Karasoonk) for the repose of Lisa’s soul will be held this coming Sunday (October 6, 2013) at St. Vartanantz Armenian Church in Chelmsford, MA.
After the service, join us for lunch at a nearby, convenient location.
God Bless,
Scott, Elena, Ana
A floral heart rests
Where wildflowers will grow
Mom’s final summer
After my first date with Lisa, I wrote a letter to my college roommate, Tinker, stating that I had met the girl I could marry.
“She gorgeous, rides motorcycles, flies airplanes, skis, and scuba dives. She’s a concert pianist. Oh, and did I mention, she has a bachelor’s and master’s from MIT and she’s getting a PhD.”
I’m sure that Tink thought I was dreaming. However, I wasn’t dreaming.
And, as strange as it may sound, Lisa was not the girl of my dreams.
She wasn’t the girl of my dreams because, in my wildest dreams, I could never have dreamt up someone as amazing as her.
People say that everything happens for a reason or that God works in mysterious ways. Those things might be true, but I also believe that we are all here on Earth for a reason. God had put us here for a purpose. Fulfilling that purpose is up to us, through our actions and deeds. We might not know what that purpose is, but God does, and when we complete our earthly duty, its time to move on. As hard as it is for us to comprehend why God has taken Lisa from us, God has done so because her mission here on Earth is complete.
Although we may feel that Lisa’s life was cut short, I believe that she left us because God needs her more than we do.
God has big plans for her.
Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you all so much for the outpouring of kind thoughts, words, and prayers.
Visitation and service details ca
n be found at the following link:
Or by going to the funeral home’s website and clicking on Lisa’s name in the left column:
If you feel so inclined, please go to this site and upload photos, stories, and/or condolences. Thanks for sharing.
God bless,
Scott, Ana, and Elena
New Ipswich, NH – Lisa T. Parechanian Allen (nee Siobhan McInnes), 54, passed away peacefully, after an extended illness, on Sunday, August 25, 2013 at her home in New Ipswich, NH, surrounded by loving family and pets. Lisa was born May 10, 1959, daughter of the late James and Sylvia Parechanian of Naugatuck, CT. She was the beloved wife of 28 years of Scott Allen and the devoted mother of twin daughters, Ana and Elena Allen.
Lisa was the top 1973 Josephine A. Mahr scholar from Hillside Middle School where she was a pioneer student in the formation of the town’s first Ms. Babe Ruth (softball) League. An accomplished concert pianist, she was a 1996 finalist in the Hartt School of Music competition. She graduated as Valedictorian of Notre Dame Academy High School (Waterbury, CT) in 1977. She was also a 1977 Connecticut Junior Miss finalist, winner of Creative and Performing Arts Award.
For college, Lisa had to make a choice between Juilliard, Yale, Cornell, and MIT. She took her parent’s advice and pursued her love of math and science. She was the recipient of both the Century Brass and UniRoyal, Inc. Scholarships while she earned her Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Metallurgical Engineering. After working at Bell Laboratories for her summer internships, she decided to pursue her Ph.D. Although accepted to continue at MIT, she selected the University of California / Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory for their pioneering program in Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Synchrotron studies where, in 1987, she earned her Doctorate of Science in Metallurgical Engineering with a minor in Physics and could be formally called Dr. Allen.
During her doctorate studies, Lisa met Scott Allen in 1984 while they were both taking flight lessons in Palo Alto, CA. It was love at “first flight” and they were married one year later. Together they enjoyed flying, motorcycle riding, scuba diving, skiing, sailing, golfing, Armenian dancing, and nearly all aspects of life.
For a decade, Lisa worked at Ibis Technology originating and managing programs for silicon-on-insulator crystal growth, a material used in many high-tech applications. In 1998, Lisa became the peer elected 1998 General Chair of the IEEE International Silicon-on-Insulator Conference and was a member of the Executive Committee for the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference.
Late in 1998, Lisa joined Epion Corporation as Technology Programs Director where she was a key developer of gas cluster ion beam technology for improving semiconductor surfaces. While there, Lisa continued her support of graduate students and helped to graduate PhD students from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, University of Florida, Tufts, and others.
Scott and Lisa, and their daughters, Ana and Elena, became a family in 1998. Ana and Elena were a joyful change in Lisa’s life. The family moved from MA to NH in 2003 so the girls could be raised in the beautiful surrounding of rural New Hampshire. Also in 2003, Lisa joined Galaxy Compound Semiconductors as the Director of Technology. She was thrilled with the reality of working from home to be there for her daughters as well as spearheading Galaxy’s research. Dr. Allen became the 2008 co-developer of an extended IR transmission GaSb substrate for advanced space applications.
For over 20 years, Lisa volunteered as an MIT Educational Councilor responsible for assisting local high school students with their MIT applications. In 2013, Lisa received the MIT George Morgan Educational Council Award in honor of her dedicated service.
Through the years and intense scientific studies, she enjoyed receiving and giving talks, working with the synchrotron, and traveling with her husband and children to Japan, Alaska, Canada, Romania, Switzerland, France, England, Mexico, Egypt, the Middle East, Scotland, and different labs throughout the USA. Lisa gave lectures on infrared crystals, gas cluster ion beam technology, silicon-on-insulator processing, and Czochralski growth methods. With over 135 technical publications, numerous invited and guest lectures, and five technical patents, she especially was happy with those published in co-authorship with her husband and her dad regarding a combination solution to issues in respective fields of Aerospace and Chemical Engineering. She was one of a handful of people in the entire world to grow InSb and GaSb from raw semi-metals without doping compensation. She and “Gordon” teamed up several years ago to provide the world with an extended IR wavelength crystal that is still the only one of its kind. Much of her work was classified. Lisa cherished lakeside living with her family (and all the stray animals her daughters brought home). Lisa was steadfast in her friendships. Lisa thanked God for every wonderful day and was a cheerful person, helping others to be, too.
Lisa was a member of the St. Vartanantz Armenian Church in Chelmsford, MA. She was predeceased by her parents, James and Sylvia Parechanian of Naugatuck, CT. who were married for 54 years. Besides her beloved husband and soul mate Scott Allen and beautiful twin daughters, Ana and Elena Allen, Lisa leaves her relations: the Allen’s of WA state, close cousins the Guregian, Parechanian, Boghosian, Kazanjian, Goodsoozian, and Boyajian families of MA, and her recently found McInnes family from Florida.
Vistitation will be held on Friday from 4 until 8pm at the BLAKE FUNERAL HOME, 24 Worthen Street, Chelmsford, MA. Her funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Vartanantz Armenian Church, 180 Old Westford Road, Chelmsford, MA. Burial will be in Westlawn Cemetery, Lowell, MA. For those that desire, contributions may be made in Lisa’s name to St. Vartanantz Armenian Church (www.stsvartanantz.com) or the Heifer International Project (www.heifer.org). Funeral Director, Paul A. Hardy, Jr. For online condolences visit BLAKEFUNERALHOME.COM.
Dear Family and Friends,
With great sorrow and heavy hearts, we must inform you that Lisa passed away peacefully at-home in the early hours of August 25, 2013. She valued your friendship dearly and loved “touching bases” with you through work, cards, e-mails, visits to the lake, or quick calls.
Planning for the wake and service are still in the works, but there will be a wake at the The Blake Funeral Home (www.blakefuneralhome.com), in Chelmsford, MA, tentatively this Friday afternoon. Church services will be held, at St. Vartanantz Armenian Church (www.stsvartanantz.com) in Chelmsford, 180 Old Westford Road, Chelmsford, MA, tentatively this Saturday.
The wake and church service times will be posted as soon as they have been confirmed.
Thank you all for your support, love, and prayers through this difficult time.
God Bless,
Scott and Ana and Elena Allen
Four weeks have gone by since Lisa was admitted to the in-home hospice program. I can’t believe how fast the time has passed.
The hospice folks have been wonderful, providing as much, or as little, support as we request. A nurse comes by three or so times a week to check Lisa’s condition and bring or order any supplies or medicines we may need. An aide drops by a couple days a week to massage lotion onto Lisa’s legs, give her a sponge bath, or just be with her so I can run errands. Volunteers come over anytime we may need some extra help.
Her pain seems to be fairly well managed, but she is starting to complain of pain in more areas of her body (neck, throat, ribs, back, belly), especially when I need to move her while changing cloths or bedding. Since she can’t swallow, she receives her pain meds through an IV, which allows us to easily give her an extra shot of meds to help deaden the pain.
Lisa is exhibiting several signs that indicate she is entering her final days. She has no appetite and has not eaten anything in a couple weeks. Swallowing is very difficult and painful. Eating ice chips or sipping water results in a coughing fit, which limits her ability to intake fluids. Needless to say, she is extremely weak and emaciated. Her ability to talk and concentrate has declined severely. She spends most of her time resting comfortably in bed drifting in and out of sleep.
When she is awake and aware, she continues to be as upbeat as always even though she knows that she is dwindling slowly away.
This was a very difficult post to write. I started it in several different ways, none of which seemed satisfactory. So I’ll just say it straight out. Yesterday afternoon, Lisa was admitted to an in-home hospice program.
Her weakness, fatigue, weight loss, and metastatic disease, have all progressed to the point where in-home hospice care is the best option for her at this time. This program will allow her to remain at home and still get the palliative care, nursing services, and equipment required to make her as comfortable as possible.
For the past year or so, her weight has been continually declining. I’m guessing that she is down to about 100 pounds, but we don’t know for sure since she is so weak that she can’t stand on the scale by herself. The last accurate reading was 104 a couple of weeks ago. The recent colitis (bowel inflammation) episode seems to have subsided, but she still experiences periodic nausea and belly pain, especially after eating. Obviously, this hinders her ability to maintain or gain weight.
Due to weakness and fatigue, someone needs to support her anytime she is on her feet. Since the short trip to the bathroom will exhaust her, she spends much of her time in bed. Because getting her into and out of bed is a struggle, hospice is delivering a hospital bed to the house today. This bed will be a much more convenient when helping her move around and should be much more comfortable for her due to its adjustability.
She has been off of treatment for just over a month and there is evidence of disease progression. One can easily see and feel enlarged lymph nodes on the left side of her neck and she does complain about pain in this area. She hasn’t had any scans recently, but I fear that other affected areas are beginning to progress as well.
Unfortunately, she is too weak to be considered for another course of treatment at this time. And, the fact of the matter is that, there are no good treatment options left. The quiver is empty.
Not surprisingly, Lisa continues to remain positive and in good spirits.
After a three day stay at MGH the colitis afflicting Lisa subsided enough for her to return home. She is feeling much better and is extremely happy to be back to the peace and quite of the lakeside. Even though there is still inflammation in her colon, she is able to tolerate a very mild diet. To help speed her recovery, she is on a course of steroids to reduce the swelling and she is still off the trial drug, GDC-0032.
We will see her oncologist next week to discuss the available options for treating the metastatic disease.
Thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts, and prayers.
Lisa (Siobhan) Parechanian Allen 