Louie Varni

Louie Frank Varni passed away on December 12, 2020, at the age of 95, after a brief illness following a stroke.  He was born on April 1, 1925, in Modesto, California, to John and Katy Varni, and had 3 older sisters, Olga, Lydia and Virginia.  He was a veteran of World War II and served in the Navy and was stationed on the Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands.

He met the love of his life, Nunzia Vizziello, in 1949 at an Italian Catholic Federation dance.  They married in 1950 and lived in Merced, California where he was a tomato farmer.  They had 3 daughters and moved to Sacramento in 1960 where he was the manager of a rendering plant.  The family then moved to Davis in 1972 where they lived until 2013, at which time they moved to assisted living in Cameron Park and later Placerville.

He had a wonderful life filled with so many happy and loving memories of family and friends.  There were the yearly camping trips to Fort Bragg, horseback riding, swimming, barbeques, Easter egg hunts, Thanksgiving celebrations and always the beautiful Christmas prime rib dinner.  He was such an avid fisherman and loved fishing for catfish in the Delta on his boat, the Nancilou, with his loving wife and an ice chest full of salami sandwiches and beer.

He was an avid San Francisco Giants fans, as well as a San Francisco 49er fan, never missing a game, either watching them on TV or listening on the radio.  He loved to build model airplanes in his shop and learned to fly them with radio control.  He spent many hours woodworking, making bowls, cradles for his grandchildren, swings and various gifts for his children.

He was predeceased by his loving wife, Nunzia, in 2016, after 66 years of marriage and his grandson, Daniel DeSaussure in 2020. He is survived by his 3 daughters, Mary Louise DeSaussure (Jeff), Joanne Chiles (Joe) and Virginia Ratto (Paul), his 4 grandchildren, Sean Chiles, Kristin Chiles, Sarah Nelson (Bobby) and Jessica Cerrudo (Kyle), his great grandchild, Wendell Nelson and many nieces and nephews.

We would like to thank his wonderful caregivers at Gold County Retirement Center for the special attention they gave to him in his last few days, especially during these difficult times.

No one could ever ask for a more devoted, loving and patient husband, father, uncle and grandfather.  We will miss his funny sense of humor and Italian jokes and we will cherish so many amazing memories of family get togethers.  In his famous words, “the next time we see each other, we'll be together.”  Rest in peace Louie...you are forever in our hearts.