When friends of the late John Neil Varnell heard recently that the Board of Trustees of the Judge George W. Armstrong Library was considering purchasing an expensive statue to serve as a monument to Varnell, the friends reached out to set the record straight.

The trustees’ plan was to purchase a bronze statue of a young girl sitting on a bench and to install the statue with a plaque honoring Varnell on the sidewalk in front of the library.

Varnell was a supporter of the library and a member of the Friends of the Library, an independent fundraising organization that supports the Armstrong Library. Varnell also was active in other community organizations.

When Varnell died earlier this year he left more than $2 million to several non-profit organizations in the community, including the Armstrong Library.

Varnell, his friends said, was a frugal man who lived modestly and gave back to the community in order to make the community a better place.

When Varnell’s friends, including members of the Friends of the Library, heard about the plans for the statue, they said Varnell would not approve.

“Honestly, modest Neil might not have approved of anything more than his name being put on a plaque of honor,” wrote one of Varnell’s friends in an open letter to the library board.

We are sure the Library Board’s intensions in considering the statue were good and we also are happy the board reconsidered in light of Varnell’s friends’ entreaties to opt for a simple plaque rather than a grand monument.

A simple plaque will be a fitting reminder of the late benefactor’s support of the library.

Now, any funds saved from not buying the statue can be put to better use improving the library for its patrons.