Sophia Marie Varney

With heartbreaking sadness we announce that Sophia Marie Varney, 16, passed away on December 20, 2020 from pneumonia linked to her underlying health issue of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which is a rare and inoperable pediatric brain stem tumor.

She was born on May 17, 2004 in Kalamazoo, Michigan to Mark and Kim (Shewchuk) Varney. An avid softball player, she first took the field at age 4. She continued to play competitive softball with various teams from little league through high school and travel, most recently on an Elite team out of Grand Rapids. This passion eventually even included some coaching. Sophie was a junior at Portage Central High School and active in Student Council as an elected official, National Honor Society, JV and Varsity Softball, and most recently The Optimist Club. She carried straight A's and was on the aggressive and demanding IB Diploma track at her passing. She had been elected as Homecoming Princess her freshman year. Additionally, she had a part time job at Jersey Giant and had secured the coveted competitive position as an unpaid junior counselor at the beloved Camp Wakeshma. Additionally, she was a founding member of Sunday Night Basketball as well as the Portage Wiffleball League. She also loved to play cards and board games with her family, and go camping and fishing with her dad. She was a huge fan of MSU, Grey's Anatomy, TikTok, and the Bachelorette. She was very passionate about all her activities and took her commitments seriously, even as her disease started to progress.

She is survived by her dad, Mark Varney (Amber Lytle), and mom, Kim Varney (Jeff Sobell); brothers, Will and Wade Varney; step sisters, Alicia and Hailey Sobell; grandfather, Doug Varney; grandmother, Jeanne Shewchuk; and step grandmother, Diane Sobell. Additionally, she is survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, and her beloved puppy Rosie. She is preceded in death by her grandmother, Donna Varney; and her grandfather, Bob Shewchuk.

Throughout her illness Sophie continued to thrive and grow and had a determination to beat this cancer. She was laser focused and never let her cancer define her. Her strength and courage in the face of a terminal illness will serve for years to come as a shining example. She was loved by many and will be missed terribly. The outpouring of support from the softball community and her various friend groups has been so humbling. A special thank you goes to her oncologist Dr. Carl Koschmann of Mott Children's Hospital and many of the nurses on the PICU staff at Bronson, especially Amy and Elise.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the ChadTough Foundation in memory of Sophie Varney (#SophieStrong). This organization was very important to Sophie as its only focus is finding a cure for DIPG. We relied on them heavily throughout our journey over the past two years.

Due to the current Covid restrictions, a private family-only service will take place at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Portage. This event will be live streamed for her many friends and teammates. Please join the live stream event on January 5th at 11:00 AM at the following links:

https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/mass
https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJ-qTI698cH_uzqyunbpXA/videos