William Varley, 76, of Norman, died Sunday, August 26, in Norman. He was born January 8, 1936, to Gerald and Marjorie Thompson Varley in Watertown, New York. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1953 and graduated from Cornell University in 1959. He received an MBA from the University of Oklahoma in 1982.

Lt. Col. Varley served in the United States Army from 1959 to 1980. He was stationed at Ft. Still for several years, served two tours in Vietnam, two tours in Germany and taught ROTC at Niagara University.

After retiring from the Army, Bill went to work for the University of Oklahoma. He held several positions while he was there including the Director of Research Development. All of his children graduating from OU definitely made him proud.

Though he was from Northern New York, Bill fell in love with Oklahoma when he was stationed at Ft. Still. He was an avid sports fan, especially baseball, and liked attending all of the different athletics at OU. He enjoyed his time spent on the golf course, but his passion was truly in the water. He was an avid swimmer; he set All State records in high school.

He is survived by his wife, Gail of the home; his son Michael of Norman; two daughters, Terry Varley of Edmond and Linda Ross and her husband Dr. John Ross of Edmond; two grandchildren, Ashley Kate Ross and Brian James Ross.

There will be a private memorial service with internment at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

The family has suggested a charity of choice as appropriate for memorial contributions. In his honor, take your family to lunch. Bill would be delighted as that was so very important to him.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Primrose Funeral Service.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer