Obituary of Dr. Lawrence J. Varnerin

Dr. Lawrence J. Varnerin, age 85, died on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at St. Luke's Hospice in Bethlehem, PA surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Boston, MA and had lived in Watchung for many years before moving to Bethlehem. Dr. Varnerin received both his S.B. in Physics in 1947 and his PhD in Physics from M.I.T. Prior to his retirement in 1991, Dr. Varnerin was a Department Head at Lehigh University. Previous to working at Lehigh, Dr. Varnerin spent 30 years at AT&T, Bell Labs in Murray Hill. He was a member of Who's Who in America, the Telephone Pioneers of America and the Magnetic Society as well as a Life Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow in the American Physical Society and an Editor for the Journal of Magnetism and Materials. He was also a member of the Lions Club and active in Marriage Encounter. Dr. Varnerin was a World War II veteran, having served as Captain in the Army. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marie Hynes Varnerin; his sons, Lawrence Varnerin, III and his wife, Jessie of Mechansville, VA, Gregory Varnerin and his wife, Debbie Downs of Watchung, Bruce Varnerin and wife, Debbie of Ridgefield, CT and Jeffrey Varnerin and his wife Debra of Berkeley Heights, NJ; his daughters, Melanie Viscelli of Branchburg, NJ, Sharon Cenci and her husband, Gerald of Emmaus, PA, Suzanne Dahlinger of Green Brook and Carol Levandowski and her husband Thomas of Clinton, NJ and his 21 grandchildren. Also surviving are his brother, Robert Varnerin and his sister, Jean Donahue, both of Milton, MA Funeral services will begin on Wednesday, May 20th at 9:30 a.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung followed by a 10:00 a.m. funeral mass at St. Mary's Stony Hill Church. Interment will be at St. Mary's Stony Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Lehigh University and put in memo "Karakash Endowment Scholarship" sent to Lehigh University office of Development, Attn: Terry Caskey for Larry Varnerin, 27 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, PA 18015.