JOE RYAN ALLEN: A Knack for
Connecting
Joe Ryan Allen was one of those guys who still had his
friends from first grade. His brother-in-law described
him as "the family ambassador" because of his knack for
connecting with people.
Mr. Allen, 39, had done well in his career as a bond
broker at Cantor Fitzgerald. But the centerpiece of his
life was his many friends and his family -- a younger
sister, three older brothers, six nieces and nephews.
His sister, Jennifer D'Auria, said Mr. Allen was
single and thinking about settling down after seven years
in Los Angeles trying to be an actor, and many more years
of being an inveterate world traveler. "He did everything
he wanted to do," Ms. D'Auria said. "He was always out
with friends, he was always getting together with the
family."
He was her rock, she said, when their mother died of
cancer last year.
"He would be depressed because other people around him
had problems; they weren't his problems," said Robert
Diodato, his best friend. They grew up in Bronxville
together and met in fourth grade. "He was one of those
friends you speak to four or five times a day. He left a
tremendous void in a lot of people's lives."
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