The spirit to help others lives in her

This woman, who moved here from Vietnam many years ago, is helping other immigrants learn English and also learn how to be Americans. DP

By Angie Tabor

While growing up in Phan Thiet, Vietnam, Kathy Varney would look at pictures in books of places she wanted to visit. On top of her list was the White House because it housed the president of the United States, and Florida with all its orange trees and sunny skies. She also vowed to see other places that captured her fancy. As she learned through books about the Seven Wonders of the World, she made a goal to one day visit them all.

At 15, the daughter of a construction worker began to learn to speak English and became involved in mission work by helping with her local Baptist church. “Mission workers were my role models,” she said. In her teens, she helped her community by doing such things as distributing rice and volunteering as a flood relief worker. All her life she knew she wanted to serve the community and help others any way possible.

After meeting a marrying and American soldier who was stationed in her country, Varney found herself willed into one of her dreams. At 21, she left her beautiful coastal town and moved to the United States.

She and her husband settled in California. Both wanted to do mission work while attending Golden Gate Seminary, she said. It was 1967 and the seminary wouldn't send them out on missions, they soon learned, because they were an interracial couple. Having an undeniable faith in God, she didn't allow such prejudice to set her back. She knew the time would come and she would move on.

Varney has always been a woman who enjoys activities and work. She started the Refugee Immigration Office in Roanoke in 1975. It began after she received a call from a woman who worked for a refugee office in Richmond and asked her if she could mentor a new Vietnamese family in the Roanoke area.

Varney jumped on the task and welcomed the new family. She also helped them learn to speak English, find an apartment and job.
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