Community to celebrate life of beloved man who was killed outside Hardee’s
On Thursday, a Georgia community will gather to celebrate the life of a beloved man who was shot and killed outside a Hardee’s restaurant earlier this month.
Police said that just after 7 a.m. on May 21, Calvin Varnum, 72, was shot outside the restaurant on Homer Road.
Varnum was resuscitated by a neighbor and was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center by EMS where he died from his injuries a short time later.
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Last week, Commerce police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Xavier Clark.
Varnum’s cousin Larosa Calloway told Channel 2 Action News that the 72-year-old had special needs. She said he would often fill his time by waving and smiling at drivers passing the Hardee’s where he would get breakfast in the morning.
“He’d throw up his hand, waving to everybody,” said Calloway.
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Commerce Police Chief Ken Harmon said he, too, would see Varnum outside the Hardee’s, always waving, always smiling.
“It’s a horrible tragedy,” Harmon said.
The family will hold a visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jefferson Civic Center followed by a celebration of life service at 1 p.m.
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