Our SemDems Activist of the month for September, Vara DeLoney, says that although she grew up in places around the world due to her father’s military career, she considers southwest Georgia her roots. She was born in the Azores Islands, which are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and belong to Portugal. She is the oldest of three sisters. Unfortunately, her father and mother both passed when Vara was in middle school and in college, respectively.
Vara went to Stetson University in Deland for two years, then graduated from The University of Florida in 1979. After a 10-year career in Employee Benefits, she went back to school to become a nurse, graduating from Emory University as a RN with a Master’s degree in Public Health. During her adult years, she stayed in the south, living in Atlanta for 20+ years working at Emory Hospital. Then she moved to Central Florida in 2002 and joined AdventHealth as an oncology nurse and has worked there for over 18 years at a chemotherapy infusion center.
She never married, but has a partner named Stephen Jepson who is a renowned ceramic artist who has a piece on display in the Smithsonian Museum. He is also the brother of fellow SemDems member Chris Jepson. She has two fabulous nephews who work on behalf of social justice issues.
Vara says, “I could not wait to register to vote, which I did in 1975 when I turned 18.” She has been a life-long member of the Democratic party and has voted in every election since she registered and has worked on every Democratic presidential campaign since 1975. She is proud to say that John Lewis was her representative for all the years she lived in Atlanta.
Vara joined SemDems in February 2020 and became a precinct captain for precinct 51 in Sanford. She enjoys working voter registration, phone banking, and literature drops to GOTV. She indicates that her favorite things about participating with the SemDems, “are getting to know fellow activists and volunteers.”
When not working to get Democrats elected, Vara LOVES to garden has a large vegetable garden in her backyard in Sanford. She also collects antique kitchen linens. The SemDems are so lucky to have such an accomplished woman on our team!
Thank you for all of your hard work, Vara!