Callahan County lost one of its famous sons last Saturday when Durward "Woody" Varner, formerly of Cottonwood, Texas, died of Parkinson's disease on Saturday, October 30, 1999, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Woody was the former chancellor and president of the University of Nebraska. He was 82 years old. He was born in Cottonwood in 1917; his father was Harry S. Varner, the schoolmaster of Cottonwood for over fifty years. Woody was an assistant dean at Texas A&M after serving in World War II with distinction. He later joined the faculty at Michigan State University, where he was an assistant professor of agriculture and then director of the cooperative extension service. He served as vice president of Michigan State from 1955 to 1959. He headed the University of Nebraska from 1970 through 1976. After resigning as president, he became the chairman of the university's foundation. He is survived by his wife, Paula; son, Tom Varner of Metamora, Michigan; daughters Susan Wilkins and Judy Varner of Omaha, Nebraska; and five grandchildren. Ben Varner