The family of Charles J. Varese after his death in April. From left, Uncle James Varese, chief of the Centerport Fire Department; father Robert Varese, chief of the Northport Fire Department; brother Robert; sister Rebecca with her daughter Samantha; mother Lorri Varese and brother Will. (Newsday / Ken Sawchuk.)
By Tim Healy
tim.healy@newsday.com
The family of Chuck J. Varese, a Northport volunteer firefighter killed in an auto accident earlier this year, is organizing a golf outing in his name in September to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
“We need golfers,” said Becky Varese, Chuck’s sister, who says sixty foursomes have signed up so far but that the family is aiming for another twenty. The deadline for setting up a foursome has been extended to Aug. 15.
The outing is scheduled for Sept. 24 at the Swan Lake Golf Course and costs $130 per golfer. Included will be a continental breakfast and a barbecue with salads, beer and soda.
Becky Varese said the organizers had received many great prize donations, including a car through Northport Ford as a prize for a hole in one. There will also be raffles, including a 50/50.
Chuck Varese, 24, was killed April 15 when his motorcycle was struck by a car on Route 25A in Centerport. The car driver, a Stony Brook man, was charged with driving while ability-impaired by drugs.
Varese’s father -- Bob Varese, the chief of the Northport Fire Department -- said that local fire departments had run an “extrication tournament” in his son’s name in May, raising about $1,000 for the Suffolk County Burn Center in Stony Brook. The tournament was a timed event in which departments competed in setting up emergency gear, removing car doors and lifting the dashboard of a car in simulation of getting an accident victim out.
Varese said more than $4,000 has been raised for the burn center in his son’s name. “We’re just going to try to keep his name alive through that entity and then also through St. Baldrick’s, two separate funds that we’re trying to promote through the tragedy of his death, just to keep his name alive in a good sense.”
St. Baldrick’s is a national organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research.
For further information about the golf outing, or to sign up, contact Becky Varese at 631-940-0394 or 631-365-6644.
Comments (2)
Just to be REAL.. he is not a fallen firefighter but rather a firefighter who was killed tragically!!!!!!!
Being a Retired City Firefighter and Volunteer Firefighter, I support all events relating to firefighters who are killed tragically, particularly Chuck Varese and his family, who I've known for years.
Please include me in the golf outing September 24th. Could I be included in any foursome from the Town of Huntington, since I live in Pennsylvania and will be coming alone.