Funeral services for Howard W. Warren, 73, of Purcell were held Friday, July 3, 2020 at the Wilson-Little Funeral Home Chapel. Interment was at Hillside Cemetery in Purcell under the direction of the Wilson-Little Funeral Home in Purcell.
Mr. Warren passed away Monday, June 29, 2020 at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
Howard Wayne Warren was born December 11, 1946 in Chickasha, Okla., the older of two children born to Howard Smith Warren and Thelma Maxine (Hinton) Warren. He was raised in Purcell and attended Purcell schools, graduating with the Dragon Class of 1965.
Howard answered the call to serve and joined the United States Marine Corp. He served his country proudly with two tours of duty in Vietnam. Howard was always assigned Elite Duty, and was a member of the Marine Corp Rifle Team. Howard served in Okinawa and after returning to the States, he proudly served at Marine Corp Barracks. It was here he met a young lady named Kathy Eaton. She was working for the FBI, and she wanted to meet this young Marine, and so she loaded up a cherry pie, and the rest as they say, is history.
Howard and Kathy were married on January 11, 1969 in Genessee, Penn. They first made their home at Oxon Hill Md., where they welcomed their only daughter, Kim. They moved back home to Oklahoma, and lived in the Moore/Norman area. At this time, Howard worked for the Oklahoma City Police Department, in the Motorcycle Division and a member of the SWAT Team. They later moved to Alaska, and Howard began working as a Budget Analyst for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. After nearly 15 years, he retired, and they moved back home to Purcell in 1997.
Even in retirement, Howard always found ways to stay busy. He worked as a welder and built decorative fences and he greatly enjoyed metal work. He was artistic, enjoyed painting, and was particularly intrigued with mountain scenes. He loved photography and flying remote controlled air planes, and was an avid collector of pocket watches. He was a gifted musician. He was a self-taught guitar player, learned to play both the trumpet and the clarinet, and eventually conquered the harmonica.
Howard was always up for a challenge and believed one should never stop learning. He was a wonderful husband and father, grandfather, brother, uncle and a good friend. He will be dearly missed!
He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Maxine Warren.
Howard is survived by his wife, Kathy of the home; his daughter, Kim Byck and husband, John, of Derby, Kan.; sister, Cheryl Lapuzza of Mustang and two grandsons, Ian Byck and Nick Byck.
Online condolences may be made at wilsonlittle.com.
