Virginia Tech Police Officer Geoffrey "Geof" Allen Jr. passed away on Jan. 17, 2022.

Allen will be remembered as a loving husband, a beloved brother, son, uncle, and grandson, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and a devoted member of the Virginia Tech Police Department. 

Allen was born April 22, 1973, in Blacksburg. He graduated from Giles High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1994. Shortly after enlisting in the Navy, Allen married his wife, Shannon, in 1995. Allen then moved to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. He served as legal yeoman for the Blue Angels flight team and reached the rank of petty officer third class. After his time in the military, Allen was employed as a drill instructor at Rebound Camp Kenbridge, where he worked rehabilitating troubled teens. Allen then moved back to his native Giles County and began working as a dispatcher with the Virginia Tech Police Department. In 2003, after excelling in that capacity, Allen was appointed as a Virginia Tech officer where he served for 19 years.

During his tenure with the Virginia Tech Police Department, Allen was committed to engaging with the university community. He founded the Virginia Tech Student Police Academy in 2004 to provide students with insight into the law while teaching them effective crime prevention strategies. He was also certified as a crime prevention specialist by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. He was the recipient of the Medal of Valor, the Virginia Tech Police Department’s highest honor; the 2009 Virginia Tech President’s Award for Excellence; and a Virginia Tech Police Department Life Saving Medal in 2014.

Despite all of these honors, Allen was most proud of being part of the elite Virginia Tech Police SWAT team and thought of his team more as brothers than fellow officers. He spent his life serving and sacrificing for others in many different capacities.

Yet through all of this, he remained a loving and devoted husband to his beloved Shannon. Wherever Allen was, laughter was near. He was seldom seen without a cup of coffee in his hand and he made it his life mission to convert everyone he met into a coffee drinker. Allen was seldom at a loss for words and rarely met a stranger.

The full obituary and service information can be viewed here.

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