For those who may have missed the original thread, cuemaker Kevin Varney died last Wednesday. Kevin had been ill for a long time after contracting a rare form of pneumonia due, I believe, to an allergy to the clear coat he was using at the time. This developed into a serious lung problem which he was never able to get over. He was in and out of the hospital for months at a time and had very expensive medication. Last I knew he was on oxygen 24/7. His ex-wife told me that he was very sick the last two months and just could not beat it again. He had been sick for 2-3 years. He was 48 and had a son who would be about six, if memory serves. He was cremated.
As many here know, Kevin made mostly rather plain looking but great playing cues.
Kevin was my friend and I will miss him very much.
not to be disrespectful to Varney or any of his family/friends, but where would someone inquire who had given money to Kevin Varney for a cue and never recieved anything, money was given to him about 2 years ago.
RIP sir.
Well, he's gone and he was divorced before he passed away .
He died broke and left no estate.
I think you should write it off. As unfortunate as that might sound.
Very sad news. My thoughts, prayers. and condolences go out to his family.
I met Kevin for the first time in 2003 at Mother's Billiards in Charlotte, N.C.
They really made his j/b cues do the
job and he was proud of them.
He loved to take just the shaft and jump the cue ball over an object ball that
was only separated by his business card(1/32 of an inch or less). The cue ball
would jump 1 or 2 feet in the air and clear the object ball almost every time.
It was his way of demonstrating just how well his shafts and hard tip could
perform.
Well, he's gone and he was divorced before he passed away .
He died broke and left no estate.
I think you should write it off. As unfortunate as that might sound.
Thank you. I was trying to think of a way to be civil about it and was having some real trouble with that. I had just decided not to be![]()
I think I met this man once when he was first getting started in cues. Would he have been around the Charlotte, NC area? I think it was early 2000 maybe even 99?
Thoughts with his family. Tragic loss.
Yep this is definitely the same man I met back in early 2000 at Mother's. He was super nice and was just getting those jump breaks started.
I remember extensive conversation with him about some of the action going on at Mother's. I had completely forgot until his passing. It is amazing how certain things come back to the memory in times like this.
RIP Kevin
Very sad news. My thoughts, prayers. and condolences go out to his family.
I met Kevin for the first time in 2003 at Mother's Billiards in Charlotte, N.C.
Quite frankly, he scared the shit out of me. I had just left and it was dark
in the parking lot and some guy walks up to me with a pistol in his hand.
It was Kevin, he had just bought the gun and was very pleased with it and just
wanted to show it to me. We had a conversation in the parking lot about
him getting his shaft wood from Laurie Franklin. It was the shaft wood that
wasn't up to South West standards and he said she passed it along to him.
We also talked about the hard tips he made and it was his secret at the time
the material used to make his hard tips.They really made his j/b cues do the
job and he was proud of them.
He loved to take just the shaft and jump the cue ball over an object ball that
was only separated by his business card(1/32 of an inch or less). The cue ball
would jump 1 or 2 feet in the air and clear the object ball almost every time.
It was his way of demonstrating just how well his shafts and hard tip could
perform.
I enjoyed talking to him on a couple more occasions and he was always
a very passionate person. He enjoyed making those great players and
jump/breakers. I wish I would have bought the one he let me shoot with
at the Smokey Mountain Shoot Out about 6 years ago, that cue played
incredible/
KtownD mentioned that Kevin got some bad rolls the last few years of
his life. It's very sad and I wish things could have been better for him.
No one deserves to go through the things he had to endure those last
few years. I guess we all need to count our blessings, because we
really never know what the future holds, good or bad.
RIP Kevin, you'll be missed, Jerry Grooms