Donald Allan Waterfield Jr. passed away in Rye, New Hampshire, on April 29, 2026, with his wife of nearly 32 years at his side, just shy of his 85th birthday.

Allan was born in Troy, New York, on May 7, 1941, the youngest of four children and the only son of Donald Allan and Elizabeth (Vaughn) Waterfield. He attended Troy public schools, leveraging his claim to fame as “the smartest one in the dummy section” (one of only two children in his kindergarten class) to skip a grade and graduate with the class of 1958. A star swimmer who set records for backstroke at Troy High School, he chose Ohio Wesleyan University for college largely based on the appeal of the school’s swimming pool, and went on to set records there, as well, in the 100- and 200-meter events as well as the 400-meter medley relay — accomplishments for which he was in 1994 inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame.

Allan graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1962, married his high school sweetheart, Sara Derrick, a year later, and earned a master’s degree from Springfield College in 1965. The couple welcomed daughters Amanda and Kristin while Allan was stationed in Bainbridge, Maryland, as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, and following a short move to Ohio to begin his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University, in 1970 moved to Durham, New Hampshire. Allan joined the faculty of the University of New Hampshire, teaching physical education classes, coaching the men’s swimming and diving team, and helping launch the university’s SCUBA program while conducting research on the physiological effects of saturation diving for his doctoral thesis — mostly on himself. He was spending a month in an underwater habitat, 100 feet below the Atlantic Ocean’s surface in Puerto Rico, when his son, Lance, was born in 1973, completing their family.

Allan and Sara divorced in 1981. He rose to full professor of physical education at UNH, ultimately serving as the department’s chair and interim associate director of the marine program, and in 1987 left to become the dean of the School of Health Sciences at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Following three years and two brief marriages in Pennsylvania, Allan moved to Newark, Delaware, in 1990 to serve as dean of the College of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation at the University of Delaware. The happiest stretch of his life followed as he reconnected with a former student and longtime friend, Ruthe (Langer) Wentzell, marrying in July 1994 and bringing together a blended family that included her three children and his stepson from his second marriage. During his tenure at Delaware, Allan brought to bear his commitment to health education on a range of state-level fitness, nutrition, and tobacco-use prevention initiatives, including the expanding the state’s ban on smoking at indoor venues to restaurants, bars, and casinos. In 2004, he received the Health Education Network of Delaware Achievement Award for his work.

Following several southerly moves, Allan and Ruthe moved to Greenland, New Hampshire, in 2013. Within hours of closing on their home, Allan reached out to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye to volunteer his services. He was appointed to the organization’s board in 2014, served as both its vice chair and chairman, and for two years stepped into the role of vice president. For his contributions there, in 2022 he was honored by the NH Center for Nonprofits as an Impact Award recipient.

Diagnosed with multiple system atrophy in 2023, Allan worked valiantly to maintain the considerable physical ability that had always defined his life for as long as possible. He spent his final year at Webster at Rye, his loving wife at his side for many hours of every day. The son of a lay-minister, and for one semester a pre-theology student at Ohio Wesleyan, Allan grappled deeply with his religious beliefs at various points in his life but departed with a profound belief in God and eternal life, and his hope was in Jesus. His faith community was Mercy Church in Newmarket, New Hampshire, and his small group.

Allan is survived by his beloved wife of almost 32 years, Ruthe; his children Amanda (Adam), Kristin (Erik), and Lance (Joelle); his stepchildren Jason (Kathy), Emily, Joshua (Cassandra), and Justin (Sharon Rose); grandchildren Andrew and Laura Brodkin, Quinn and Henry Duisberg, Ada and Elsie Waterfield, Matthew and Tyler Beaulieu, Addison Pashak, Elijah, Esther, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Issachar, and Patience Wentzell, and Selah, Isai, Galilee, and Alea Wentzell; his sisters Carol Ostermann and Doris Lipetz; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends. His goal in life was to serve others and to make a difference in all aspects of his existence. He was loved by so many and will be dearly missed by all.

A celebration of Allan’s life will take place at the Seacoast Science Center on Saturday, June 13, at 3 p.m. His family will scatter his ashes at sea beyond the Isles of Shoals, where he spent several happy summers conducting research in the 1970s and many more years SCUBA diving. If desired, donations in his name may be made to the Seacoast Science Center, 570 Ocean Blvd, Rye, NH 03870; to Mercy Church, 213 S. Main St, Newmarket, NH 03857; or to ChildVoice International, 202 Kent Place, Newmarket, NH 03857.

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Hampton.

To view Allan's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit https://csnh.com .