Jeffrey Colter Ryan Shen, 59, beloved son of Mae Shen and the late Michael Shen, was born July 19, 1961, in Queens, New York. A resident of Centreville, Virginia, he is the beloved husband of Tanya To-Ngoc Che Shen, beloved brother of Julia Mae-Shen Lesko (husband John Lesko), and beloved uncle of Timothy Daniel Farr (fiancée Bethany St. Thomas) and the late Jonathan Mitchell Farr. He is survived by his many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. Jeffrey was known for his welcoming, cheerful, and optimistic spirit. He flourished in his deep love for Scouting, swimming, and music. He began his journey in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in Crofton, Maryland, when he joined the local Cub Scout pack, his parents served as co-den leaders, and he welcomed his tag-a-long sister. Jeffrey bridged into a Boy Scout troop, became a brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow (BSA’s honor society), and attained the rank of Eagle Scout (BSA’s highest rank). He loved to camp, hike, backpack, and bike. He completed hundreds of miles hiking and backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in national and state parks, on historical trails, and in the mountains of the Philmont Scout Ranch with both fellow Scouts and with his family. He earned the 50-miler award for bicycling on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. He attended the 1977 National Scout Jamboree. In addition, he played the piano and other instruments, and enthusiastically joined the BSA Scout Band Explorer Post, welcomed his sister to join him, and together performed at District/Council camporees and ceremonial events. During this time, he also found a love for competitive swimming and mastered the butterfly stroke while at Doc Councilman’s summer swim camp at Indiana University. In the summer of 1977, his family moved to Fairfax, VA, where Jeff became a champion butterfly swimmer on both the local community and high school swim teams, and was honored with a varsity letter in swimming. Jeffrey and his sister enjoyed singing together weekly with the Jerusalem Baptist Church youth choir, and enjoyed many trips together performing church musicals. Jeffrey later sang baritone with the Northern Virginia Community College Choir, and cheerfully rang handbells for over 10 years with the Fairfax United Methodist Church Celebration Ringers, which was directed by his sister. Jeffrey continued Scouting in Virginia as a member of BSA Troop 1966 and later as an Assistant Scoutmaster. He earned his Wood Badge beads as a good ol’ Buffalo. He was an adventurous and active young adult Scouter serving in the George Washington District, where he met his life-long friend and “brother” Father Daniel Mode (Eagle Scout) with whom he also shared a love for working at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Jeffrey was excited to have his family drive cross-country and welcomed them to attend a summer 1983 week at Philmont, which gave him the special opportunity to hike with his father up the Tooth of Time and to track his sister’s Mountain Women Trek itinerary, surprising these young women with a backpack filled with snacks in the backcountry. Jeffrey easily persuaded Julia to join him in 1984 to serve on the Philmont Training Center staff, and they enjoyed backpacking together on their days off. Jeffrey graduated summa cum laude from Old Dominion University with a major in Psychology and minor in Mathematics. These academic honors were achieved while also working part-time at the Sears Auto Center. Jeffrey was excited to start a federal career as a civil servant. His career as a Human Resource specialist was launched at the Department of Navy, an achievement of which Jeffrey was especially proud because his naval architect father had retired from the Department of Navy. Unexpectedly, an illness and allergic reaction to an antibiotic damaged his kidneys and led to over two decades of health challenges. Nevertheless, Jeffrey continued to embrace his family and friends with his cheerful laughter and bright spirit. Jeff met the love of his life when a coworker at Sears asked Jeffrey to meet his sister Tanya at their parents’ home to help her write her resume to apply for a federal government job. Not long afterwards, Tanya began her career at the Department of Commerce. Jeffrey invited Tanya to learn to ring handbells with the Celebration Ringers. In 2000, they celebrated their engagement, and Jeffrey received a kidney transplant. In May 2001, the Celebration Ringers handbell choir joyfully rang Trumpet Voluntary for the bride and groom at their wedding ceremony along with a number of Jeffrey’s favorite pieces, including Hymn of Promise. Jeffrey was instrumental in creating an automated system for human resources and was sent around the country to train personnel at other agencies that had purchased this new information technology program. Ironically, this project ultimately made Jeffrey’s Navy job obsolete. Jeffrey was next hired to implement and train the human resource personnel in these cost-saving initiatives at the Department of Agriculture. After successfully completing that project, he moved to a position of increased responsibility within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.), where he retired in February 2020 after 30 years of civil service. Jeffrey’s love of Scouting continued with his nephew Timothy. He could be found cheerfully serving as a volunteer helping the Cub Scout pack with the Pinewood Derby or leading a Belt Loop station or other activity for the Cub Scouts. Jeffrey had the heart of a big kid, and he always made time to play with Timothy. He was a living hero to Timothy, literally the protagonist in an award-winning story Timothy wrote based on his uncle. Jeffrey played a significant role in Timothy’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor and was honored with an Eagle Scout mentor pin. Jeffrey’s courage and unending optimism helped him battle and overcome his many health challenges. Jeffrey’s affable personality became an example to all. Always smiling, always generous, always kind, always loving — Jeffrey shared a legacy that will live on in his family and friends. May he rest in eternal peace. In lieu of flowers, a donation to Scouting may be made in memory of Jeffrey with a check payable to the “NCAC BSA” and mailed to: NCAC Endowment Fund National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts of America 9190 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20814 (Please add in memo line: Endowment - Jeffrey Shen) Alternatively, a donation may be made via www.ncacbsa.org/givetoendowment with a note designating the donation in memory of Jeffrey Shen. Due to covid-19 restrictions, attendance at the visitation and service will be limited by invitation only. Friends and family are invited to join the visitation and service via Zoom at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86994076981?pwd=Z1F2UTRIY3l4MlVCVXlhVjhrZVk5dz09 Meeting ID: 869 9407 6981 Passcode: 762953 One tap mobile +16468769923,,86994076981#,,,,,,0#,,762953# US (New York) +13017158592,,86994076981#,,,,,,0#,,762953# US (Washington D.C) Dial by your location +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 869 9407 6981 Passcode: 762953 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjMGnhsjx