Seventh Generation

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Obituary Notes: "Dale Robert Varney was called home to be with his Lord and Savior at the age of 38 on Dec. 24, 2004. He was born April 6, 1966, in Nurenberg, Germany, to Stanley Edward and Lucille Leola (Gamerdinger) Varney. He was baptized at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church, Tomah, WI. Dale attended St. Paul Lutheran Grade School and graduated from Luther High School. He was an honor graduate from Western Wisconsin Technical College as a certified Surgical Technician.

Dale is survived by his mother, Lucille, of Tomah; one sister, Lisa (Joseph) Giertych of Tomah; two brothers, David (Anna) Varney of Washougal, WA, and Tyson Varney of Madison. Dale is further survived by several nieces and nephews, Emily, Kayli (his special Godchild) and Benjamin Giertych, Stephen, Elizabeth, Hannah and Pierce Varney, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Dale was preceded in death by his father, Stanley; his grandparents, Leslie and Leola Gamerdinger and Stanley and Rose Marie Varney; four aunts, seven uncles and four cousins.

Funeral services were held today (Thursday), Dec. 30, at 11 a.m. at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church, 525 Superior Ave., Tomah. Pastor Donald R. Buch officiated. Burial was in Mount Vernon Cemetery in the Town of Tomah.

Visitation was Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, 801 E. Monowau St., Tomah, and at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church today from 10 a.m. until time of the service."

Newspaper Article: "A disturbance at a Kilbourn Avenue residence ended in the death of a 38-year-old man Christmas Eve morning. Dale R. Varney, 38, was shot by Tomah Police officers summoned to the home. Varney was pronounced dead after being taken to Tomah Memorial Hospital.

At about 10:30 a.m. police officers responded to a request for assistance to remove an intoxicated man from a home at 322 Kilbourn Ave. After making entry, officers encountered the man in the kitchen.

In a press release Tomah Police Chief Chris Anderson said the man had multiple knives in his possession. Officers tried to talk to the man for several minutes, asking him to put the knives down, but he refused and started "flailing the knives about," causing injury to a family member, Anderson said. The family member was trapped on the porch and in "immediate danger," so the officers shot the man with their service weapons

Officers provided medical treatment at the scene before the man was transported to Tomah Memorial Hospital, where he died. By Friday afternoon, yellow police tape surrounded the cream two-story house, which is in a residential neighborhood just blocks from the Tomah Police Department.

An officer remained at the house, which was decorated for the season, in a squad car. A member of the Monroe County Sheriff's Reserve kept watch over the house on Saturday.
One neighbor who did not want to be identified said she heard "yelling and screaming" followed by four gun shots. The neighbor was waiting for a package to be dropped off at her house and went outside when she heard the commotion.

"We're all trying to figure out what happened," she said. "We're all wishing we knew more."
Another neighbor with a clear view of the house said she and her daughter heard some noise and saw police officers when they looked outside. A while later, she saw an ambulance arrive and someone was removed from the scene on a stretcher, she said.
The neighbors said they thought the homeowner was not home when the incident started.

Officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave to give them time to cope with the incident. The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and Wisconsin Crime Laboratory mobile response team have been asked to investigate, Anderson said."

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