Ryan Allen Remembered On 3rd Anniversary Of Death

HATBORO, PA —It rained on the day Ryan Allen died. Just like it did Monday, on the third anniversary of the death of Hatboro K9 Police Officer Ryan Allen.

Whitney Allen, Ryan's widow, paid tribute to her husband Monday in a Facebook post.

"It rained the day you died, three years ago today. As if God and the angels were crying for what could not be changed and knowing how much light the world lost the day you went to Heaven," she said.

Three years ago, Ryan Allen, a police officer since 2013, died on April 7, six months after having a heart attack following a freak bee sting incident.

Allen never had allergic reactions to bees and had been stung before. But in October 2021, he experienced an anaphylactic shock from a bee sting and suffered a heart attack. He never recovered.

At the time of her husband's accident, Whitney Allen was 26 weeks pregnant with the family's second child. She was working as a medical malpractice defense attorney in Princeton, N.J., and also raising a young son.

These days, Allen does grief counseling for women and widows and has launched a website to offer support. She also recently remarried and has written a second book about grief.

"We talk a lot about how someone dies. But today, I want to write about how you lived. All the magical, beautiful, messy, complicated, wonderful moments in that between the little dash —between the day you were born and the day you went to Heaven. Some people don't fill that dash with much. But you did. You died at 35, but you made the most of each day, and for that, you should be proud, as I am grateful," Whitney Allen said

"You soaked up every little piece of magic in that dash," Whitney Allen said in her tribute. "You made this life count. You loved, you made a difference, and you didn't leave anything unsaid. You were a beautiful, big light in this world. We love you so much and miss you every day."