Terrell R. Warren

Terrell Ray Warren- Terry to friends and family- was born to Ray and Edna Marie Warren in Carrollton, Missouri September 6, 1945. The only child of a farming family, he enjoyed driving harvest trucks from farm to town from ten years old, and target shooting at a dump near the Missouri River, a few miles from his home. He was very intelligent; while in elementary school he read the entire encyclopedia, one volume after the other. This capacity would continue to serve him well throughout his life.

Terry graduated from Carrollton High School in 1963. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Business in 1968 from Central Missouri State College. On Saturday, July 13, 1968, Terry and Dianne were married at Elm Spring Baptist Church in Kingsville, Missouri.

Terry joined the United States Air Force in November 1968 as a Voice Processing Specialist. He graduated from the East European Language Program (Basic Russian) at Syracuse University October 3, 1969, and attended intelligence and aircrew training before reporting to Rhein Main Air Base, West Germany in 1970. When Terry wasn’t flying on missions, he and Dianne were touring Europe, enjoying their close group of friends, and spending time with the German family they lived with.

Terry separated from the Air Force in 1972. He and Dianne returned to Missouri, and the couple welcomed their first child, Brittany, in 1973. Their second child, James, was born in 1976. The following year, Terry took a position at International Concrete Systems, a job which became a passion project for 22 years. 

Terry had started in a company with dozens of people; over time, people left, and he took on greater responsibility. He put in long hours and gave his best efforts to serving customers across the globe. One of his favorite things about this time was the opportunity to work with both his children during summers. It was during this time he and Dianne became Band Boosters for the Harrisonville High School Royal Regiment Marching Band, enjoying competitions and travel with the kids, as well as building friendships with fellow boosters. 

Terry poured much of himself into ICS, often joking about his “third child.” As General Manager, he had kept the company alive and profitable. As a dad, he’d taught his kids critical skills for adulthood and a rock-solid work ethic. But when the parent company proposed moving his position to Mexico City, Terry decided it was time to say “Adios.”

Terry worked for RB Industries (RBI) in Harrisonville for a few years starting in 2002. He enjoyed working with the tools and enjoyed the conversations with his co-workers. In 2005 he began working at the Internal Revenue Service in Kansas City on a neighbor’s suggestion. Terry worked for the IRS for ten years before finally enjoying full retirement in 2015.

Terry enjoyed puns to no end, earning the honorary title of “Master Punnery Sergeant” in the family home. He gathered so much information in his lifetime that when providing a fact, the question, “how do you know that?” was often followed by, “why do you know that?” He enjoyed details; he would take the same amount of time meticulously crafting model aircraft cockpits as he would faithfully reproducing a camouflage pattern or weathering on a boxcar. He knew past and present railroads across most of the U.S. and could point to a tree line or land feature and tell you when and where that railroad operated. And he knew such a volume of world military history, he seriously considered becoming a college professor. 

In his family, there are songs that haven’t been popular for decades, but were sung on long road trips anyway. There are traditions being taught today that Terry and Dianne brought into practice and will endure long after their children. There are more memories that induce laughter than provoke tears; there is more family and more friends in the world because of Terry. He loved his family and made sure each one knew it beyond a doubt. If you were a friend of his kids, you had extra parents. And if you were a friend or neighbor, he wouldn’t hesitate to help when you were in need.

Terry is survived by his wife of 56 years, Dianne, of Harrisonville; his daughter Brittany and her children, Xavier, Emma, and Rodolfo, of Lansing, KS; his son James and wife Jessica and their child, Xero, of Wichita, KS; sister-in-law Sherry Norfleet and her sons, Jeremy and Matthew, of Harrisonville.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association

Cremation with a Celebration of Life Visitation will be held 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Saturday, October 12, 2024 at Spencer Hall next to St. Peters Episcopal Church, Harrisonville, Missouri. 

Inurnment will be at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas at a later date.