Allen Woodruff Stokes was born September 16, 1914 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. His family belonged to the Quaker faith (Society of Friends) and his early schooling was at private institutions of Quaker affiliation: Germantown Friends School and Haverford. He attended Harvard in the 1940s and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying wildlife management with Aldo Leopold.

In 1952, Allen accepted a position as professor in the Forestry School at Utah State Agricultural College. He received a National Science Foundation fellowship for 1958-59, and used it to study animal behavior in England. In 1959, he organized and was president of the Animal Behavior Society in Logan. In 1975, Allen was the first professor from the College of Natural Resources to receive a Robins Award for Teacher of the Year. He was an active participant in the Bridgerland Audubon Society and helped found the Utah Audubon Council in 1985. Allen was also a member of the Logan Forestry Board, and he created the Allen Stokes Conservation Award to recognize people or organizations who made substantial contributions toward conservation.

Allen was involved in many organizations on campus and in the community at large, including United Way, Friends of the Cache Libraries, Hospice of Cache Valley, Planned Parenthood and the Gay Lesbian Alliance. He helped found the Logan Friends Meeting, Society of Friends in 1965.

On June 23, 1945, he married Alice Harper and together they had Allen Jr. and Susan. In later years, their nieces Julie and Jane came to live with them. Allen died at his Logan home July 28, 1996.