Roy Varner was a leader and supporter of amateur wrestling.

He and his wife, Marty, were integral in organizing and assisting with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association tournament when it was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

They also supported the wrestling community from the high school, college, national, and international levels for over 40 years.

They were Mom and Dad to any wrestler needing support and organized and assisted with numerous wrestling tournaments, including TSSAA state tournaments, the Southern Conference championship, World Cup events in 1993 and 1995, and USA Wrestling training camps prior to the 1995 World Championship and the 1996 Olympics.

Roy felt privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the 1995 freestyle wrestling World Championship team and became fast friends with all of the members, but especially with Dave Schultz, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Roy and Marty’s unwavering support of amateur wrestling was recognized when they both received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.

These accomplishments are even more remarkable seeing as their sons were avid soccer players and never wrestled.