Victoria Lee Shilley (11/22/52-11/15/24)

A proud Irish American woman, Victoria Lee Shilley was born in Tacoma on November 22, 1952, and passed away on November 15, 2024, in Tacoma.

Victoria was the only child of the legendary radio broadcaster Jerry Geehan and his wife Delores Geehan, both philanthropic parents who served as her role models. Some of her earliest memories include accompanying them as they worked to secure support and funding for many organizations, such as the Elks and the United States Olympic Equestrian Team. She lived her entire life in Pierce County, from her graduation from Wilson High School in 1970 and furthering her education with a focus on criminal justice at Tacoma Community College to her time working for Boeing's Commercial Airplane Division from 1989 to 1991.

From 1963 to 1992, Victoria successfully showed horses and won many awards. In fact, her infatuation with horses started at an early age, with her parents claiming that her first word was "horsey" and recalling her begging to stop and pet every horse the family drove past on road trips.
On December 30, 1969, her life took a dramatic turn when her neighbor and her first love was shot down by enemy fire near the region of Laos. USAF Capt. Doug Ferguson's phantom F4-D was downed while on return to base after a successful mission. In 2014 his remains were returned after a long 44 years. She remembered that both of her parents had been USO volunteers during WWII, so to thank the Lord for his gift of returning Doug's remains, she followed in her parents' footsteps and called the USO at McChord to become a volunteer as well.

She fell in love with the service men and women who dedicated themselves to helping her, and she promised God that she would never forget their help, vowing to do more. Victoria formed a tight team of USO volunteers who took it upon themselves to do anything in their power to support with deployments, "re-ployments", holiday parties & dinners, and care packages.

Victoria is survived by her aunts, uncles, cousins, dearest friends, and step-daughter & step-grandchildren.

"But I loved you, and I lost you, and I will never be the same."

Her service will be held Saturday, December 14, 2024, at New Tacoma Cemetery at 11:00am. Reception to follow at another location.

Remembrances to:

1.    Noelle Meyer/Bannanola Scholarship Fund
c/o Pierce County Sheriff's Department
930 Tacoma Ave S
Tacoma, WA 98402

2.    William F. Lowry Memorial Fund
c/o TAPCO Credit Union
PO Box 5185
Tacoma, WA 98415

3.    Tacoma Pierce County Crimestoppers, Inc
c/o Pierce County Sheriff's Department
930 Tacoma Ave S
Tacoma, WA 98402

4.    Washington State Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
c/o Washington State Council of Police Officers
200 Union Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98501-1393