Obituary: Warren, William S., Jr “Bill”
Bill was born to William S. Warren and Janet J. Warren (Blackburn) in Paterson, NJ on April 7, 1926.
Bill served his country in Germany during the final months of World War II and again during the Korean War.
He rarely talked about his military service and from his experiences became a life-long pacifist.
In 1949 he married the love of his life Elizabeth “Jay” Lee of Highland Falls, NY.
He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, followed by graduate work at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Between 1951 and 1964, Bill and Jay had seven children: Bill, Lee, Carl, Jan, Lynn, Chris, and Tara.
Bill’s professional and personal life revolved around education and the welfare of children.
He began his career as an Assistant Dean at the Harvard Business School and then as a teacher at the Kincaid School in Houston, TX and St. Paul’s School in Concord, MA.
In 1961, while working in the education department at the Polaroid Corporation, Bill became aware of recruiting efforts for President Kennedy’s recently formed Peace Corps.
After signing on as a staff member, he and the rest of the family served for two years in the Philippines and then for nine months in Kathmandu, Nepal.
After leaving the Peace Corps the family lived in Nairobi, Kenya between 1965-1968 where Bill worked for the Education Development Center creating math and science curricula for elementary schools.
Many friends and fond memories from his overseas work endure to this day.
After returning to the U.S. in 1968, Bill became an elementary school principal in Lincoln, MA, and later worked as a therapist at the FLLAC Collaborative in Leominster, MA.
In “retirement”, Bill continued to volunteer as a court advocate for at-risk children with CASA in New Hampshire.
In 2007, Bill and Jay moved to Spokane, WA to be closer to their four youngest of twelve grandchildren: Sari, Karlyn, Nick, Jordan, Lisa, Lindsay, Sam, Anne Linn, Jadyn, Tully, Piper, and Elsie.
While living in Spokane, Bill was an active participant in, and received excellent support from, the local Parkinson’s Resource Center.
We will carry forward the memories of the wonderful life of this amazing man.
At his request, there will be no formal service.
His body will be donated to the Willed Body Program at Washington State University.
If you wish, donations in his memory can be made to CASA Partners (casapartners.org; P.O.
Box 8158 Spokane, WA 99203; 509-462-2272).