Leonard Varney

Leonard Thomas "Tom" Varney, 57, of Carson, went to be with his Lord and Savior suddenly on September 17, 2012 while vacationing in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Tom was a loving son, husband, father, brother and "Poppy" to his 3 grandchildren, Tanner, Kayson and Nevaeh. He was born December 11, 1954 to Cecil and Evelyn J. Varney in Williamson, Kentucky. He is survived by his "Bride," Tammy Bailey Varney; son, Daniel and wife, Ashley of Matoaca; his father, Cecil Varney of McVeigh, Kentucky; sisters, Delores (Clayton) Smith of Milford, Michigan, and Sharon Hubbard-Spence of Hurricane, West Virginia; brother, Terry (Susan) Varney of South Williamson, West Virginia; as well as a large extended family of nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles in Kentucky, to whom he was affectionately known as "Bimbo," and a special family member, Pansy Williamson of McVeigh, Kentucky. He was preceded in death by his mother, Evelyn J Woods and beloved brother, Cecil "Junebug" Varney Jr. Tom was employed for 34 years with Carter Machinery, Inc. having started his tenure in Oakwood and eventually transferred to the Richmond office in 1983. Tom would tell you that he has met many wonderful people in the heavy equipment and logging industry, some of which became his closest friends. He was a member of West End Assembly of God, Richmond. He enjoyed serving the Lord on the "Parking Crew" for many years where he loved volunteering his service during the "Glorious Christmas Nights" production every year. He was a lover of old cars, having restored many and his most recent prized toy is a 1947 Ford 2 door Coupe. He also enjoyed riding his Harley where he felt closer to the Lord and free of all worries and holds a special trip with his son Daniel to Ocracoke Island as one of his favorites. He was a member of the Richmond Shag Club for over 20 years. He loved every aspect of the dance from the music, to teaching of the dance, to the tri-annual treks to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for SOS where he met many wonderful friends from across the country! He was a competitor having won several competitions with his friends the Pistolero's and the Shag Mafia. He was inducted into the Virginia Shagger's Hall of Fame and the Living Legends of Dance. Tom is also survived by very special, loved and close friends, Kent Mayes, Larry and Elaine Kitchen, Ed and Cindy Swim all of Richmond, Joseph and Marsha Tedesco of Petersburg, Nancy S. Wall of Midlothian, Dr. Hugh and Cyndi Cline of Chester, Henry and Brenda Geisz of Prince George, Dickie and Joyce Burnley of Matoaca, and his special neighbor, "Momma T" Charlotte Taylor and many, many more…you all know who you are and how special you were to him. A visitation will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, September 22, 2012 at the Petersburg Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory, 3935 S. Crater Rd. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, September 23, 2012 at West End Assembly of God, 401 N. Parham Road, Richmond. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Camp Fantastic, 117 Youth Development Center, Winchester, Virginia 22602, a summer spot in Front Royal, Virginia for kids who are too sick to attend traditional camp (www.speciallove.org).