Columbus, OH — William “Bill” Leavitt Varney, 83, died peacefully at home Oct. 11, 2024, with his loving wife at his side.
He was born Jan. 7, 1941, in Danforth, Maine, the son of Fred and Eloise. He lived in Pembroke for his first five years with his mother and grandparents while his father served in World War II. Spending much time with his grandfather helping him train and race his horse at the Pembroke race track, planted the seeds for his love of harness racing.
Upon his father’s return from the war, they moved to Bangor.
As a small boy he was known for his tenacious spirit, initiative and keen intellect. He was never afraid of hard work, nor taking risks to further push whatever business endeavor he was in to deliver the best customer service possible. Throughout his career he exemplified a true entrepreneurial spirit.
Mr. Varney is known for his uncompromising work ethic throughout the community and by organizations he has been involved with, always striving for excellence. These qualities began at a very early age working at his father Fred’s neighborhood service station on State Street in Bangor. After school and sports practice and on weekends he would be found pumping gas, repairing cars with his father, doing whatever chores were needed. This is where he began understanding the essence of delivering great customer service beyond expectations. And it grew exponentially from there.
In February of 1958, at the age of 17, he married his high school sweetheart Brenda McNamara and they started their family. Mr. Varney was one of Bangor High School’s basketball stars and Brenda was a Bangor High School cheerleader. For 68 years she has remained his number one cheerleader. Back in that day, many said they would never make it. It was a difficult way to start, but it only increased their drive, to dig deep and prove otherwise. They did just that, celebrating their 66th anniversary this year.
While Brenda remained home raising their two sons, Tim and Rick, Mr. Varney finished his senior year of high school and began to build his career by starting to work at Eastern Auto Parts. After work he would take orders for service stations in the remote areas in Downeast Maine, delivering auto parts out of the trunk of his car. Soon afterward, Brenda’s parents passed away and they took in her 10-year-old brother, Michael McNamara, and raised him with their boys.
In 1960, Mr. Varney opened his own auto parts business, Varney Auto Supply, out of a small three-story store front on 236 Hancock St. Due to urban renewal, they were forced to move to 1205 Broadway in 1976, and as one to always turn a change into an opportunity, he made this location the first retail automotive parts store in the area, open seven days a week, nights and weekends. Until the state’s blue laws changed, Sundays were exclusively staffed by Bill, Brenda and the boys. This launched the growth where Mr. Varney eventually opened 13 locations statewide before selling to a national chain in 1997.
Varney Insurance began in 1980 in a tiny office of the auto supply store with three employees, leading to 18 insurance agencies in Maine, New York, and New Jersey. During this time Mr. Varney began the family’s car dealerships, first in Machias and Bangor and ultimately the current footprint from Bangor, Newport and Pittsfield, selling GMC, Buick, Mazda, Ford and Chevrolet.
His latest business adventure was Premium Choice Broadband bringing fiber internet to over 5,000 households in rural Maine, where he worked fulltime up until the day he died.
Mr. Varney was a proud member of the Anah Shriners and Mounted Patrol for most of his adult life. Other passions and businesses of his were commercial real estate, owning and developing many properties over the years in the greater Bangor area, True Value Hardware store franchisee, wholesale flower business, operating an awards signs and trophies business, wholesale seafood, and business consulting.
He was a member of the Maine State Lottery Commission and Commissioner of the Maine State Harness Racing Commission as a result of his heavy involvement and years of service to the harness racing industry in the United States and Canada.
Mr. Varney also loved being a pilot where he could efficiently travel for work while also satisfying his risk-taking nature. Over his life he made many trips around the eastern seaboard from Florida to Newfoundland and many places in between. In his younger years he loved hunting and fishing with dear friends and family.
In later years he was passionately involved with harness racing and sire stakes breeding where his horses carried the “Pembroke” moniker as an acknowledgement to his childhood roots caring for and racing horses with his grandfather. He bred hundreds of horses, leaving a permanent mark in the Standardbred industry. He kept great care of his horses, even after they were unable to race anymore, making sure they were well treated their entire life.
He was an avid reader, constantly studying business books, biographies of successful leaders and Standardbred horse breeding. People honored him for his business acumen and generosity and he was known to always have an open door to anyone needing help with business issues or career advice. He loved strategizing, problem solving, helping others not make the same mistakes he had and search for the best possible outcome for any situation.
Most importantly, he loved his family deeply. If he promised something, he kept his word. He was a concerned, caring grandfather and great-grandfather. Never intruding, but always there when needed or when asked. He sacrificed a lot to make sure that his kids and future generations had an opportunity to be better off than he was no matter what the expense was to him.
He will be greatly missed and forever honored. His life was a testament to treating people well, working hard and never giving up regardless of odds being stacked against you.
Mr. Varney is survived by his loving wife, Brenda; son, Tim; daughter-in-law, Lori; son, Rick (Jane); grandchildren, Nicholas (Samantha), Whittney (Matt) Miller, Michael (Sarah) and Emmaline (Peter); sister, Judy Porter; eight great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He is going to be enormously missed by his dogs, Annie, Lucy and Archie. He was preceded in death by his brother, James.
The family invites relatives and friends to share in conversation and light refreshments at Anah Shriners, 1404 Broadway, Bangor, from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 22). A private burial service will be held for the family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Kidney Fund at give.kidneyfund.org.