George Washington Varn II

George W. Varn, Sr. passed away on September 4, 2021, in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, the same hospital in which he was born December 1, 1920. The intervening 101 years encompassed a varied and accomplished life. His verve and charm will be missed by all who knew him. George was predeceased by his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Van Dyke Varn, after a joyful 65-year marriage. He is survived by his brother, Lester Varn, and his children, Merrill Varn, Ellen Lowman (Don), and George Varn, Jr. (Margo) as well as 5 grandchildren: Donald Lowman (Elvira Bolanca-Lowman), Edmund Lowman (Tammy), Asa Wilson (Miranda), Macon Lowman (David Whitsett) and Samuel Varn. His great grandchildren are KP Lowman, Noa Bolanca-Lowman and Brynn Whitsett. George graduated from The Bolles School as valedictorian in 1938. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Economics and a membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1942. In his senior year at Harvard, George was spirited out of Cambridge by Naval Intelligence and served the entirety of World War 2 translating the Japanese War Department secret code. He spent so much time walking over rotten guavas in the Pacific that he couldn’t stomach guava jelly the rest of his life. While being mustered out of the Navy in Charleston, South Carolina, George fell head over heels for Betty Van Dyke, a Naval Waves Ensign responsible for public relations. Since time was short and she was stunning, he had to put on a full court press. He convinced the commanding officer that he could edit the base newspaper but needed Ensign Van Dyke’s help. Good thing because George was the first to admit that he didn’t know what to do. Actually, he did when it came to courting her; they were married in 1946. After the war, George went to work at the family’s turpentine plant in Hoboken, Georgia. He reported for work at 6 am and came back to his apartment with a thick coat of dirt and pine gum. With his customary confidence, he was assured that a few months at a plant was sufficient to build one. In 1947 he built a plant in Palatka, Florida with only a few disasters. He had workmen dig the plant’s sublevel only to have it flood each time it rained. After several storms, it occurred to him to build a dam to divert the water. No doubt the workers were relieved. When George and Betty married, they moved to Palatka to be near the plant. Having spent a number of years in New York City, it must have been a cultural shock for Betty. In 1950, George and Betty moved back to Jacksonville, much to her relief. In 1954, they moved onto a lot given to Betty by George’s father. Their house was one of the few houses designed by Cinder Hardwick, a devotee of the mid-century modern school of architecture. Purchasing the Coleraine tract on the St. Marys River was another accomplishment of which George was proud. The northern owners, adjacent to the Varn family’s May Bluff tract, were willing to sell but not to southerners and certainly not to the Varns. George found an intermediary whom the owner thought was buying the tract and ensconced himself in a hotel room near the room in which the negotiations were taking place. Every time the negotiations got stuck, the intermediary would claim a weak bladder and come down to George’s room. The next thing the owners knew, they had sold the property to their southern neighbors. After the demise of the naval stores industry in the 1960s, George, in conjunction with several cousins, built a sawmill on the family’s property in Hoboken, Ga. For 35 years, twice a year, he expanded the sawmill, personally engineering and overseeing construction and equipment installation. Over that time, he increased production fivefold. George’s philanthropic efforts were significant. He chaired the Bolles Board of Directors from 1977 to 1980 and chaired the Museum of Science & History Board during the construction of the new museum on the Southbank in 1969. He spent 25 years as a director of each of the two organizations. George and Betty’s second greatest passion was traveling, which they enjoyed for 30 years. Their favorites were the Taj Mahal under the full moon, Palenque at dawn and the Temple of Poseidon Sounio at sunset. Their greatest passion was us, their children. They saw their primary responsibility as teaching us to think critically and stand on our own two feet. We’d like to think they felt they had done moderately well. George & Betty’s ashes will be interred in Oaklawn Cemetery in a private ceremony. No funeral service is planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, friends are urged to donate to a cause of their choosing.