Beverly Sayre Varney

1930 - 2021

Beverly Joyce (Sayre) Varney

Vancouver, WA — Beverly Joyce (Sayre) Varney, 91, of Vancouver, WA, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, Vancouver, with her son Geoffrey and daughter-in-law Tracy at her side. Daughters Sheridan and Penelope and son Gilbert had visited her via videoconference earlier in the day.

Bev was born on January 26, 1930, at the Thetford Hill (VT) home of her parents, George and Hazel (Bragg) Sayre. She was among the fifth generation of the Sayre family in Thetford.

As a child, Bev was active in 4-H, honing sewing, canning, and other skills that she would enjoy using throughout her life. She attended elementary school on Thetford Hill, skipped eighth grade, and graduated from Thetford Academy in 1947. After obtaining an associate degree from Northampton (MA) Commercial College in 1949, she worked as a secretary at Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Co. in Springfield, MA.

On June 25, 1950, Bev married her high school sweetheart, Gilbert Varney of South Strafford, VT, in the Thetford Hill Congregational Church. Gil had recently come back from Japan, where he had been serving in the Army with the 11th Airborne Division. Bev and Gil began married life in Brookline, MA, and later moved to Seattle and Bellevue, WA, and New Orleans, LA. They returned to Vermont with their five children in 1967 and spent one year on Thetford Hill and four years in Strafford, before moving to Fairlee in late 1972, where they lived until the early 1990s.

Bev worked as a waitress in Sharon and East Thetford, VT, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and then as a cashier for two decades at the Co-op Food Store in Hanover, NH. Bev and Gil, now both retired, moved to Enumclaw, WA, in 1993. After her husband's death, Bev relocated to Vancouver, WA, in 2017, and lived with her son Geoff's family until moving to assisted living in 2019.

Bev loved spending time with her family, planning meals, and keeping a spotless home. She was an excellent cook and particularly enjoyed baking: her crescent rolls were famous within the extended family and beyond. Over a few years, she earned several blue—and only blue—ribbons in baking categories at the King County (WA) Fair; when she stopped entering her baked goods, she joked that she wanted to give others a chance to win a blue ribbon. She also enjoyed gardening, spending hours tending her flower beds and vegetable garden.

Bev was preceded in death by her son, Gregory Varney, in 2002, and her husband of 64 years, Gil Varney, in 2014. She is survived by her children Sher Varney of Everett, WA; Penny Alger and husband Jeff of Strafford, VT; Gil Jr. and wife Charlotte (Wiencke) of Atlanta, GA; and Geoff and wife Tracy (Smith) of Vancouver, WA; seven grandchildren: Kate (Law) Cox, Jason and Ronan Alger, and Geoff Jr., Timothy, Greg, and Jacob Varney; and one great-grandson, Benjamin Cox.

A service is being planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greg Varney Science Scholarship Fund, Thetford Academy, PO Box 190, Thetford, VT 05074.