James "Jim" Lee Varner

March 6, 1956 - December 14, 2020

James (Jim) Lee Varner, at the young age of 64 and born in Painesville, Ohio in 1956, passed away peacefully in the presence of family and friends on Monday December 14th, 2020 at his home in Ashtabula, Ohio. Jim is survived by his true love and soulmate of 19 years, Sherry Hamrick. Jim was preceded by his Father Lester Lee Varner, Carol Booth, his half-brother Tracy Kennedy, and his half-sister Debbie Kennedy. Jim is additionally survived by his 3 daughters Heather Varner, Carrie (Joel) Varner Sidley, and Jamie Varner; two step sons Robert (Heather) Hamrick and Joshua Hamrick; and his siblings Curt (Roberta) Varner, Jeff Varner, Robin Varner-Odegard, and Kelly Reed. He is also survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews. James, known to everyone as ‘Jim,’ had many passions including rebuilding hot rods, listening to and making music, playing guitar, metal detecting, collecting guns, and was an avid Trump supporter. Jim loved working on muscle cars, teaching others his craft in how-to autobody videos, ghost hunting, and photography. Jim loved to be in the presence of friends, deep in conversation and just shooting the breeze, as well as taking care of his customers, making new friends and sharing his craft. His regular garage buddies who loved him and never missed an opportunity to get together and talk shop related to their shared hobbies of cars, guns, God and country included Louis Spencer, Jake (Detroit) Andrews, and Shane Plats, as well as his lifelong friends Mark Wuori, James Peoples, David Hellmer, Mark Behune, Bob Drum, and many, many others. Jim, as one of his dying wishes, wanted everyone to know he will not be voting in any future elections. There will be no funeral or public services; however, the family will have a celebration at their home as Jim would’ve wanted in the summer of 2021.