She was like a daughter to her youth pastors, a friend to everyone she met, a coach to the youth at her church and a Tar Heel at heart — right down to the UNC blanket laid across her in her casket.
Varghese, a junior biology major, died Wednesday from complications following surgery to remove a brain tumor. She was 21. Varghese is survived by her parents, Daniel and Shaila, and younger sister, Princy, and remembered by her roommate Julia McManus and many others.
“Vincey was the person who made UNC my home,” McManus said in a Facebook message. “I can’t imagine going back to UNC without her or not having her in my life, but I know I’m a better person just for having known her.”
Troy Davis, Varghese’s youth pastor at Calvary Church in Greensboro, called her his “little Indian daughter” — he has no daughter of his own — and said she was like family to all who knew her.
“She never met a stranger,” said Holly Davis, youth administrator and fine arts coordinator at the church. “For anybody that didn’t get to meet her, I wish they had because she would have brightened anybody’s day.”
Varghese remained active in her parish and youth community during college, returning as a coach in the fine arts ministry of Calvary Church. To the Davises and others who knew her during high school, Varghese was the girl studying for AP exams during youth group because her commitment to both education and faith was unwavering.
“She was a very determined person and had goals, and she went for them,” Holly Davis said. “She was just so bright and so driven.”
Varghese was scheduled to take the MCAT this summer. She dreamed of becoming a pediatrician and working at orphanages in her native India.
