Barbara Varner
March 27, 1931 — January 9, 2018
A memorial service for Barbara Varner will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea. The Reverend John Holt will officiate. Visitation will take place from 4 – 7 PM on Monday at Bonnerup Funeral Home, and again one hour prior to the service. A private family interment will happen at a later date.
Barbara passed away on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at the Good Samaritan Society, Albert Lea. She was 86 years old.
Barbara J. (Kron) Varner was born on March 27, 1931 to Benjamin and Henrietta (Ofstaas) Kron in Albert Lea. She would grow up in Albert Lea and would graduate from Albert Lea High School. On January 20, 1951, she was united in marriage to Cecil “Bud” Varner. The couple were blessed with three children.
Barbara would work as a telephone operator at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. When she wasn’t working, she loved to volunteer her time. She was a leader in Girl Scouts, helped with the ARC of Freeborn County, Hollandale PTA, was a member of the Sons of Norway. She especially loved to volunteer at the Good Samaritan Society, even being honored at the state level for her volunteering there. She was a member at the Congregational Church of Hollandale, where she was an officer at church and on the ladies aide committee. Barb was known for her excellent cooking and baking. She was a very kind and compassionate mother, “granny” and “great-granny.” Family was always most important to her, and she cherished every moment spent with them.
Barbara is preceded in death by both parents; her husband, Bud Varner; a daughter, Nancy Varner; son, Dan Varner; grandson, Jacob Varner; and siblings, Helen Trim, Krist Anderson, and Mary Kron.
She is survived by her son, Chuck Varner of Hollandale, granddaughters, Chrissy and her husband, “Bucky” of Blooming Prairie, and Laura Varner of Albert Lea; three great-grandchildren, Zachary, Wyatt, and Odin; a sister, Lorraine Kuntz of Helena, Montana; nieces and nephews, Gail Kuntz, Steven Trim, Mike Wilson, and Jim Wilson; along with many extended relatives and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Hollandale Cemetery or the Hollandale Fire Department and First Responders.