Don L. Varner, Jr was born in El Dorado, Kansas and raised in Towanda, Kansas the son of Don Sr. and Linda (Faulkner) Varner. He graduated from Towanda High School in 1983. Don was offered a baseball scholarship as a pitcher and graduated in 1988 from Butler County Community College in El Dorado. In 1988 Donny graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration/Psychology from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. In 1989 he graduated with an Associates Degree in Mortuary Sciences from Kansas City Community College. Shortly after mortuary school Donny worked for Dunsford’s Mortuary in Augusta, Kansas for several years. In 1993 he went to work for Kirby-Morris Funeral Home in El Dorado. Donny was united in Marriage to Audrey (Cabana) Varner on April 1, 1997. and they were blessed with two children, a daughter Andrea and a son Trey. In 1998 he became manager of the funeral home until 2006 when he and business partner Darren Peeler purchased Pohlman-Heise Mortuary from Ronn and Ty Heise. After purchasing the mortuary they changed the name to the mortuary’s current name of Pohlman~Varner~Peeler Mortuary and Monuments.