1950 20th Street
Vero Beach, FL 32960
Phone: (772) 562-2365
Fax: (772) 562-0983
Allen  George
In Memory of
Allen 
George
1935 - 2017
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Obituary for Allen George

Allen   George
IN MEMORY OF
ALLEN GEORGE
Aka
JOSEPH ALLEN GEORGE

Allen George of Vero Beach, Florida was called to rest on Monday, July 24, 2017. He was the fifth child of the late Cuthbert George and Mable George (nee Andrew) of New York. Allen was born in New York City October 13, 1935 and upon the death of his mother emigrated to Victoria, Grenada West Indies to be reared by his grandparents. He spent his formative years there attending primary and secondary school; later he became a teacher and taught English and math. He returned to the United States prior to his 21 birthday to comply with the requirements of the draft.

Soon after arriving in the States he enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving four years and was honorably discharged as Airman First Class REGAF. While in the Air Force he pursued college courses and served as a stenographer and administrative secretary. He had a tour of duty in Germany at Ramstein Air Force Base; this assignment enabled him to travel extensively in Europe.

Allen was very interested in the area of banking and finance and pursued a baccalaureate degree at the School of Commerce at New York University as well as graduate level courses in the Graduate School of Business. He worked as an accountant with the firm of Lucas and Tucker in New York City and as an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service.

His lifelong dream was to become an attorney; he prepared himself for that feat by enrolling in a special preparatory program offered by The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (“CLEO”), a national organization that was founded in 1968 to expand opportunities for minority and low income students. He completed the program successfully; achieved success on the LSAT; was accepted at three law schools, namely, Fordham University, Rutgers University, and Howard University. He enrolled at Howard School of Law in Washington D. C. and graduated with a J.D. in 1973. He was a member of Howard University Law Review’s staff and published an article “The Tax Treatment of the Cost of Class C Stock Purchased by Farmers’ Cooperatives” in the Law Journal.

Allen graduated with honors, and was selected under the U. S. Attorney General’s Program for Honor Law Graduate to work in the Tax Division. Instead he chose to work for Standard Oil Company of Ohio (SOHIO), now BP, as a staff attorney until he formed his own firm in 1978. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1973; his areas of practice included bankruptcy, taxation, family law, consumer law and civil litigation. He continued to further his legal education by pursuing a Masters’ Degree in Taxation (LLM) from Cleveland Marshal School of Law.

Allen was very active in the Cleveland community, serving on community boards, and legal organizations. He was a member of the Norman Minor Bar, the Greater Cleveland Bar Association, The Legal Aid Society, The American Bar Association and The National Bar Association. He was an active member of St Agnes Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church.

His penchant for community service took him to Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda for one year as a visiting lecturer. He taught courses on entrepreneurship and legal aspects of business. The students loved him and voted him the “Teacher of the Year”.

Since moving to Vero Beach in 2008, Allen has been an active member of St Helen Catholic Church and the Mother of Perpetual Help Council of the Knights of Columbus. He also served on the Executive Board of the Indian River County Democratic Party.

Allen lived the American dream. He believed that a good education, hard work and perseverance were essential for a successful life. He set realistic goals for himself and worked earnestly to achieve them. The words “I can’t” were not in his vocabulary. His love of family and his sons was central to his being and he strived to be a role model and support system for them.

Having been brought up in the West Indies he was an excellent cricket player and was a member of the West Indian Cricket Club. He played tennis and was a staunch fan of the Cleveland Indians.

Allen leaves to mourn, his wife Valerie of 54 years, three sons, Gerald (aka Liberty) of Cleveland, Ohio, Kenneth of Vero Beach, Florida and, Johnathan and his wife Leah of Seattle Washington. Brother-in-law Frederick Daring and his wife Joy, four grandchildren - Tyler, Zachary, Juliana and Alexander, his brother Rudolph George and his wife Desiree, his sister Ruth Dyer, and sister-in-law Eileen George and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and members of the Alexis, George, Andrew, and Creft-Hannibal clans.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2017 at St. Helen Church, 2025 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Anyone wishing to send the family a message or share a story is asked to visit Allen’s memorial page at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.