Nancy Etheridge Varney of Crusoe died Sunday at Lower Cape Fear Hospice in Whiteville.
Mrs. Varney was the founder the Columbus County Memories Facebook page, which has thousands of fans. She started the page in 2023 to help preserve local history and share it with Columbus natives as well as those who have moved away.
Mrs. Varney was a fierce advocate for the Crusoe community, which was her home. In addition to publicizing drainage and flooding problems, she worked incessantly to preserve the community’s history and culture.
When Hurricane Debbie flooded downtown Whiteville, Mrs. Varney helped rescue, stabilize and preserve dozens of boxes of historical records from the collection of Bob High. She was well known in the offices of Brunswick Elecrtic Membership Cooperativre, where she spent days poring over old photos of BEMC employees and connecting family members with pictures of their loved ones, homes and other memories.
While she avoided the spotlight, Mrs. Varney and her niece were hailed as local heroes after spotting an elderly man who had fallen in a ditch near his home. The man was trapped there for hours before Mrs. Varney and Nicki Etheridge — thinking there was an injured animal in the ditch —stopped to help.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
