Hundreds turnout to pay respects for beloved Hardee’s employee gunned down at restaurant

COMMERCE, Ga. — Hundreds of people showed up Wednesday to pay their respects to a man shot and killed at a fast-food restaurant.

People from all across the city of Commerce came to Calvin Varnum’s funeral. He was killed at the Hardee’s where he worked -- and everyone knew him.

Flowers and balloons brighten the sidewalk outside the restaurant some 10 days after Varnum’s murder.

Our camera was not allowed inside Wednesday’s service at the Jefferson Civic Center, but people were eager to share their memories of Varnum with Channel 2′s Bryan Mims.

“It’s overwhelming. I just thank Commerce, the town -- everybody -- for the support they have for my daddy. I thank everybody,” Varnum’s only daughter Margaretia Henderson said.

Mr. Calvin as he was so lovingly called would have turned 72 next week.

He spent most his days at the Hardee’s in Commerce -- waving at people, smiling at people, opening the door for Gwyn McGee’s mom.

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“He always held the door for my mama, 84-year-old, mom. And he talked about the good Lord. And he waved every time we drove off. He was such a good man,” McGee said.

The service comes as the community wrestles with the “why” of it all.

Varnum was at the Hardee’s on May 21st, a Sunday morning. Police say someone drove up to him, circled the parking lot, and returned to gun him down.

Xavier Clark, 23, is in jail, charged with his murder.

The motive for the killing is unclear.

“I cried. It was just a senseless death. I cried. I couldn’t believe it,” McGee said.

“It’s heartbreaking,” friend Nelson Rucker said.

Rucker told Mims that he doesn’t know why his friend was killed, but he knows why his friend endeared himself to so many with his smile and wave.

“Happy, happy. You know, he was a happy person. You know, I never seen him mad. He was always waving at everybody. He was a happy person,” Rucker said.

Now, for a man known for his cheerful hello’s, his family and so many friends say their goodbyes.

Varnum lived his whole life here in Commerce. Everyone who knew him said Commerce won’t be the same without Calvin Varnum.

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