Allen and Cooper had two large dogs and would walk them a couple miles every day. The month before his death, they hiked mountains in Iceland and the day before, he had been on a cardiac monitor during a routine check up. He felt fine. He seemed fine.

The next day, when he was carrying a stack of wood at his caretaking job, he said, “‘I’m going to just sit down for a minute,'” Cooper recalled. “He sat down and keeled over and that was it. No warning, nothing.”

Cooper knew almost immediately that she wanted to create a fundraiser to raise awareness about the disease that he succumbed to. Six years later, she misses him as much as ever, and the R. Dennis Allen Cardiac Prevention Fund is still going strong, having raised a total of $202,302.

This spring’s Skate With Your Heart fundraiser will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday at the Olympic Center’s 1932 Rink. The event is free and includes skate rentals for those who need them. There will also be a bake sale with $1 heart-shaped sugar cookies and some small auction items from members of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. men’s hockey team.

It was only after Allen’s death that it was discovered he had triple-vessel disease. He didn’t even have a family history of heart disease. Cooper wanted to help spread awareness and information about preventing this “silent killer,” so she established a the fund with the Adirondack Foundation.

Since 2019, the fund has supported preventative education and resources through a partnership with cardiologists at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh.

Allen grew up in the area and spent 37 and a half years working at the state Olympic Regional Development Authority. He started working there just before the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, eventually serving in roles such as venue manager of the Olympic Speedskating Oval and director of operations for the Olympic Center. Allen later became director of events for the ORDA and then general manager of the Olympic Center.

Cooper said her husband was heavily involved with skating events and Can-Am events. Just recently, Cooper was approached by someone who said Allen was his hockey coach and is the reason for his love of hockey.

“Denny knew everybody’s family,” she said. “He was a real family person. He really created that atmosphere there (at the Olympic Center).”

The community loved him back. In 2016, Allen joined his father and mother as a member of the Lake Placid Hall of Fame. Cooper recalls there were about 600 people at his funeral, which was the first to be held at the Olympic Center.