University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Professor Emeritus Allen W. Hahn, DVM, MS, PhD, 84, of Columbia passed away on March 20, 2018, at home surrounded by his family. A celebration of life services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 24, 2018, at the First Presbyterian Church, 16 Hitt St., Columbia, Missouri. A reception will follow the service in the church fellowship hall.
Allen Hahn was born Dec. 28, 1933, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Herbert F. and Claire Webb Hahn. They preceded him in death. On Sept. 1, 1956, he was united in marriage to Joan Ruth Miller in Springfield, Missouri. They celebrated 62 years of marriage and had three children.
Dr. Hahn graduated from Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, in 1951. He received a bachelor of science in agriculture and doctor of veterinary medicine in 1958 from the University of Missouri. He went on to earn a master of science and doctorate in biomedical engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, specializing in cardiology.
In 1958 he was a research assistant at Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine Department of Small Animal Surgery and Medicine, in Auburn, Alabama, while working on his biomedical engineering PhD. In 1961 he was an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Drexel University in biological studies, and conducted a special fellowship in biomedical engineering at the National Heart Institute. In 1969 the family moved back to his alma mater, the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, where he taught and conducted research at Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. He was a professor at the veterinary college, teaching his passions: computer applications in veterinary medicine (veterinary informatics) especially artificial intelligence, expert systems and ECG processing; comparative cardiovascular performance and disease in non-human species; biological sensing electrodes; and biomaterials. He authored or co-authored more than 130 academic publications. He held five US patents for his research in the medical field. He received more than $2.3 million in grants for his research at the university.
In 1993 Dr. Hahn received the University of Missouri Faculty Alumni Award, and in 2001 he received the Henry S. Geyer Award for public service to higher education. He was a lifetime honor roll member of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
He led MU through political education reform and was instrumental in forming MU Pac.
He was an avid swimmer and was instrumental in bringing masters swimming competitions to Missouri. His walls are filled with medals and awards from meets that he competed in. All of his children swam on the Columbia Swim Team. He was involved with the Memorial Day Weekend Air Show and enjoyed speaking with all the pilots. His other passions were fishing, camping and spending time with family and friends.
He is survived by his wife, Joan; sons, Mark Hahn of Columbia, Ken Hahn (Bernadetta) of Jupiter, Florida; a daughter, Becki Hahn of Indianapolis, Indiana; three grandchildren, Jessica, Andrea and Ryan and one great grandchild, Lucas.
Memorial contributions are suggested to: the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine for cardiology research; American Cancer Society, 1900 N. Providence Road, Suite 105, Columbia, MO 65202, Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, 2101 Vandiver Dr., Columbia, MO 65202
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