Memorial Service Held For Montco Officer Who Died Following Bee Sting

HORSHAM, PA — Law enforcement officers from all over the region and elsewhere turned out at Graeme Park in Horsham Thursday afternoon to say goodbye to Ryan Allen, the Hatboro Police K9 officer who tragically passed away in early April months after he had a heart attack following a freak bee sting incident.

It was standing room only for the memorial service, which took place inside a tent on the park's historic grounds.

Police K9 Unit handlers and their dogs from all over southeastern Pennsylvania also came out to pay final respects to Allen, 36, who never recovered from the brain injury he suffered after his medical episode back in October of last year.

"It's a real brotherhood," State Rep. Nancy Guenst, a Montgomery County legislator from Hatboro who attended the service, said about police K9 units just before the program got underway.

When the memorial service got underway at 3 p.m., friends, family members, police colleagues and Allen's wife, Whitney Allen, took to the podium to speak about Allen, who was single handedly responsible for starting up the K9 Unit at the Hatboro Police Department.

"Ryan was so much more than his ending," said Ryan Allen's mother, Karen Allen. "There are so many Ryan stories to tell."

Karen Allen spoke about how her son could "fill up a room with his Ryan-ness."

She spoke about his button pushing, "epic eye rolls and that hand wave," she said to laughter.

But Ryan Allen also had a very sweet side, and he was known for spontaneously grabbing his wife in the kitchen of their Doylestown home and dancing with her when a song came on the radio that they liked. And he would leave love notes and never miss a chance to tell Whitney, his wife of eight years, how much he loved and adored her.

"Ryan was strong but he also had his sensitive side," she said.

Karen Allen said her son had always wanted to be a police officer, and he was intent on starting up a K9 department in Hatboro, which never had one before in its history.

And Ryan Allen made that dream a reality.

"He loved his job and he loved his fellow officers," she said.

She said he was also a wonderful father to his young son, Jackson, and would have been an equally great dad to newborn Leo, but never really had a chance to meet the younger one as he was born while Ryan Allen was hospitalized.

Whitney Allen said she will forever cherish the time she had with her husband, and that he would never be forgotten.

"This cosmic divide will not change our deep love for one another," she said. "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't feel loved by you.

"As a husband, you did good, babe," she said. "You were the best and I felt proud every day that you were mine."

Hatboro Police Chief James Gardner told the crowd that Ryan Allen, who joined the department back in 2013, was a "dedicated member of the police force right from the beginning."

The chief recalled Ryan Allen spending time developing a comprehensive plan to create Hatboro's first-ever K9 unit, and his devotion and dedication to the community he served.

The K9 unit, Gardner said, "would have remained only a dream" if not for Ryan Allen's hard work.

"We ... thank you for sharing Ryan with us," Gardner told the family.

Gardner then presented the flag to Whitney Allen and her children.

Toward the conclusion of the service, the canine dogs and their handlers from various departments saluted outside on the grassy field as a color guard prepared the flag presentation.

Louie, Ryan Allen's canine dog, was also in attendance. He stood at the front podium with the family as Ryan Allen was remembered.

Others also spoke at the service, including Ryan Allen's sister, Morgan Allen, as well as two of his longtime friends.