Richard “Rich” Edward Varnis, 51, of Frost died Friday, March 20, 2015, at Methodist Hospital.

A celebration of life will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Shiloh Lutheran Church in Elmore with the Rev. Robert Roettger officiating. A benefit for Rich will be at 10 a.m. until the service time at the church. Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com.

Rich was born May 4, 1963, in Philadelphia, the son of Edward and Rebecca (Scherer) Varnis. He graduated in 1981 from St. John Neumann High School and joined the Army in 1982.

On May 30, 1985, he married Terri Lynn Viland in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In 1989 they moved their family to rural Minnesota where Rich enjoyed being outdoors, hunting, fishing, gardening, cooking and spending time with his family. He also liked to study things he found interesting and share his knowledge with others. He was a member of the American Legion Post 0912 of Elmore.

He is survived by his wife, Terri Varnis, of Frost;  sons Jake (fiancee, Whitney Nelson) Varnis of Freeborn and Nathan Varnis of Mankato; brothers Francis Weissinger  of Philadelphia and Edward (Ann) Varnis Jr. of Philadelphia; and sister, Patricia (Chip) Varnis-Long,  of Glenoleen, Pennsylvania.

He was preceded in death by his parents.