Allan Lyle Abbott

December 28, 1937 — November 27, 2015

Allan Lyle Abbott, 77, born on December 28, 1937 in Burbank, California, passed away November 27, 2015. He resided in Monterey, California at the time of his passing. Interment in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Book and 'Mortuary Management' magazine author. Custom hearse designer. A co-founder of Abbott & Hast Mortuary. He participated in the funerals of numerous celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Clark Gable, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper, Ernie Kovacs, Jack Warner, Mario Lanza, David O. Selznick and Karen Carpenter. Allan Abbott was the co-founder of Abbott and Hast Company. It was Allan's interest in geology that unwittingly led he and Ron Hast into the funeral industry after they purchased an old hearse as teenagers to use as their field lab vehicle. The hearse was a catalyst for the start of a mortuary accommodation business that later led to their own funeral home. During his career, Allan made design changes on hearses that were adopted by the coach companies and he also perfected a process for first call conversions to extend the doors to open fully out.