Family, friends, colleagues, and the swimming community gathered in Bellingham Saturday, November 20, at the memorial service for TWIM member, David J. Varner.
TWIM members Brad Jones, Steve Fogg, and Dan Underbrink, as well as several members of the Bellingham swimming community were present at the service to honor Dave’s life. And what a full and rich life it was! We Western Washington swimmers had only known Dave for a short while and what we heard today left all of us wishing that we had more time with him.
Dave was a family man, a husband, a father, a world-class architect, an outdoorsman, a lifelong competitive swimmer, a triathlete, a photographer, and had a love for music, geology, and many other interests. By all reports from those who knew him well, he excelled in every pursuit. Anyone listing even half of Dave’s accomplishments would have to be called extraordinary!
Dave became a member of TWIM immediately following the “Give it a Shot” semi-comeback swim meet in Snohomish this last June 6. He joined us again, less than two weeks ago, at the true comeback-after-COVID swim meet, again in Snohomish. Meet Mobile results show TWIM with the highest point score for that meet, and Dave was there to help us achieve that! In his 60-64 age group, Dave swam the 500 Freestyle in 6:06.95, for a first place in the meet, and a ninth fastest time in the nation this year!
Those of us, who were fortunate enough to meet Dave and get to know him a little, realize that Dave understood what TWIM was all about. I am sorry that more of our TWIM team never had the opportunity to meet him, swim with him, and discover his continuous pursuit of excellence. His passing is a great loss to all who knew him. His family has asked, in lieu of flowers, to donate to the David J. Varner Fund for Mentoring Leadership, a scholarship set up in Architecture (Dave’s profession).
As I have said before, TWIM is about each of you. Each of you is extraordinary in your own right. Your individual pursuit of excellence is the exact ingredient which makes TWIM truly phenomenal! We are a group who are ALL pursuing excellence! Witness the high team score in Snohomish. Your contribution in this collective pursuit of excellence is what makes TWIM great!
Farewell, Dave. Thank you for gracing our team with your extraordinary character. Thank you also, to each and every member of TWIM, for sharing your extraordinary life with all of us!
Wishing peace, good health and fast swims to all.
Dan
