James Dean Warren

James Dean Warren Sept. 19, 1924 – Sept. 20, 2020

Our beloved father and grandfather, James (Jim) Warren celebrated his 96th birthday the day before he passed over from his life here on this earth, to be in eternity with his Lord and Savior Jesus.

James Dean Warren was born on September 19th, 1924, to Hugh Early Warren and Elnora Beatrice (Dean) Warren, in their family home in Lookeba, Oklahoma. He was named after his grandfathers: James Menefee Warren and William Edmond Dean. If pressed, he might have admitted to being ever-so-slightly spoiled as a child, being the first boy in the family after four older sisters. James, or Jimmy as he was known by his family and the local Lookeba residents, spent his early days riding his horse Lindy as much as he could, playing in Lookeba’s Sugar Creek, riding on the fender of his dad’s 1930s-era car with his legs wrapped around the headlight shooting rabbits, scrubbing up on Sunday mornings to attend the Methodist church services, and playing saxophone with the Lookeba school band.

He graduated from Lookeba High School in 1942 and enrolled in the University of Oklahoma to start taking classes toward an engineering degree. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the U.S. Army on July 26th, 1943. He joined the 11th Armored Signal Corps 579 Signal Depot Company, which was in charge of building/repairing communications systems behind the main front line of the Allied expansion into Europe (he landed on Utah Beach about a month after D-Day). At the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he was just south of the border between France and Belgium, funneling supplies to the troops who were in the battle—so close that he could hear the bombs exploding. He often downplayed his role as an Army soldier, seeing it as a job that needed to be done, a duty to his country, and nothing more. But we are proud of the role he played. While in Europe, he received word that his father had died and he was needed at home by his mother. He was honorably discharged from the Army and returned to the U.S. on Sept 11, 1945, with the same bullets that had been issued to him when he deployed to Europe—having never fired a shot, “not even at a can,” he had said.

After returning home, he re-enrolled in the University of Oklahoma and was introduced to his future bride, Ruby Hazell Six. Jim and Ruby were married on June 5, 1948 at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. After he graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1949, they moved to Camden, New Jersey, where he worked for RCA. They then moved to Dallas, Texas, where he went to work for Geophysical Services, Inc. (which would later become the geophysical division of Texas Instruments). In 1955, they returned to Norman so that Jim could work for Dorsett Electronics. One of his achievements during his tenure at Dorsett was to design the radio telemetry circuitry for the Mercury space program. He was also invited, as a subcontractor, to watch one of the launches in Cape Canaveral, Florida. In the early 1960s, he founded the short-lived AVO Corporation where he designed and patented a telephone automatic dialing system. He later served as vice-president of Dorsett Educational Systems for years until his retirement.

Jim enjoyed 65 loving and faithful years of marriage to Ruby, before she preceded him in death in 2014. He was also preceded in death by three of his four sisters: Carrie Louise (Warren) Overholtzer, Pauline Darthula (Warren) Tustison, and Dorothy Dee (Warren) Felton; an infant daughter, Rebecca Warren; and an infant great-grandchild, Joshua Warren.

He is survived by his older sister, Esther Marie (Warren) Hobbs and his younger brother, Waldo Willis Warren. He leaves behind seven children: David Lawrence Warren, John Charles Warren, Janet Carol (Warren) Schaffner, Daniel James Warren, Paul Michael Warren, Philip Keith Warren, and Cynthia Jean (Warren) Ramirez. He also leaves behind 19 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

He cherished his role as patriarch of the family. Nothing would make him happier than having large family gatherings with as many of his kids and grandkids and great-grandkids as possible, gathered together and squeezed into their house to celebrate a birthday or Christmas. Those gatherings often included homemade ice cream, which for years he hand-cranked, until that job was taken over by his son-in-law Gary. He would tell us about how homemade ice cream would remind him of his father, cranking the ice cream and singing “The Lily of the Valley.” Christmas gatherings at the Warren house always, always, always included singing Christmas carols, hymns, and reading the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke.

The mindset that he carried into WWII of doing one’s duty was a common theme throughout his life. He was a gentle, humble servant, willing to do whatever next task needed to be done; whether that was peeling potatoes for Sunday dinner (something he swore he would NEVER do after peeling so many potatoes in the Army!), getting up and going to work six days a week for decades, teaching Sunday School, serving as a deacon for years at First Baptist Church and later Northeast Baptist Church in Norman, or painting the house while listening to an OU football game on the radio. He was a man that did not preach so much with his words (those tended to be short aphorisms like “sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do” and “man is fallible, but God is infallible”), but preached servant-leadership on a daily basis with his life.

The last eighteen months, Jim lived at the Rivermont Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Norman. We, his sons and daughters, are so appreciative of the staff there for their care, companionship, and support for our dad over these last months.
He will be greatly missed. Our loss is heaven’s gain.

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Northeast Baptist Missions Fund. Information listed below.