In Memoriam: Johannes Warren

Johannes Warren

Johannes Warren passed away peacefully at the age of 98. Known by family and friends as Joe, he was surrounded by loved ones to his last breath, and immediately reunited in spirit with his late wife Hendrika on Oct. 27, 2023, the very same day of their 75th wedding anniversary.

Joe was born on July 19, 1925, in Maastricht, Netherlands to Louis and Josephine Warren. Along with his younger brother Hank, Joe grew up in Vlissingen, Holland.

In September 1944, Joe was seized at gunpoint while in mechanical trade school to work in an ammunition factory in Frankfurt, Germany. He would tell his children stories of secretly spitting on the munitions, hoping his small contribution of spittle would lead to some rust down the road, and that the munition would misfire or foul the chamber. He subsequently escaped from his forced labor during an allied bombing raid of Frankfurt in February 1945, and joined with the Dutch resistance fighters living in hiding until Holland’s liberation by Canadian and allied forces in May 1945.

A few years after the war, Joe became a ship’s steward for the Zeeland Steamship Company, ferrying passengers on the MV Princess Beatrix between the Hook of Holland and the port in Harwich, Great Britain. On one extraordinary day in the Spring of 1948, while crossing the English Channel, Joe’s eyes caught the attention of a beautiful fellow stewardess. He would soon marry the love of his life Henny. Joe and Henny would have three children while living in the Hook of Holland, their daughter Beatrix, born in 1949, and then sons John and Ronald followed, born in 1951 and 1953, respectively.

Joe and Henny decided to leave Holland in 1955 with their three young children to begin a new chapter of life in America. With sponsorship to immigrate from Henny’s oldest brother Peter, the young Warren family crossed the Atlantic as the only paying passengers aboard the cargo ship MV Wonogiri and landed in Galveston, Texas the same day of Ronald’s second birthday.

Making their way to Southern California a few months later, Joe secured a place to rent in Hermosa Beach and obtained a job working at the Frito Company in Los Angeles. He loaded delivery trucks during the work week, and because of his strong work ethic and desire to make more money to support his young family, he also worked overtime on Saturdays cleaning out the grease vats used to make those tasty Frito corn chips.

In his spare time, Joe continued to perfect his English, working on his reading and writing skills, and his penmanship. Those precise penmanship skills would prove to be another step in his career, landing him a job at US Chemical Milling as a bookkeeper, doing handwritten entries into accounting ledgers.

Now settled into a new life in California, and with God’s grace over his immigrant family, it was time to have some new babies. Their third son Peter was born in 1957 and their fourth son Robert was born in 1958. And with the new babies, it was also time to move to a bigger home.

In 1961, Joe and Henny were able to purchase their first home in Eastgate, a new home community in Garden Grove, California. Joe would also enjoy a corporate career, working on the Apollo Space Program for 15 years and the Space Shuttle program for five years, retiring from Rockwell International (now the Boeing Company) as a Senior Program Manager.

Accepting an early retirement offer in 1982, and with all their children off on their own, Joe and Henny moved into their final earthly dream home in Canyon Lake. Joe continued to work self-employed. He managed residential properties, and built several homes in Canyon Lake.

Joe and Henny resided joyfully together for 30 years in their dream home, until the love of Joe’s life passed away in 2011. He continued to reside alone for some time, and then with his son John and his wife Rita as caretakers since 2019.

Joe was kind and gentle to everyone he encountered. It was always a pleasure to listen to his soft voice and wise counsel. He was a man of strong convictions and prayed every night for his family. Joe was sharp as a tack to his last days, surfing the web on his computer and even using his iPad with Facetime to stay in touch with his family.

He was most grateful for the life he enjoyed in America and the blessings he received. He loved the open seas and had pleasure cruising the oceans, enjoying his last cruise to Alaska as recently as August last year. Although he will not be able to fully uncork his large and extensive collection of red wines, he undeniably enjoyed his last glass of chilled chardonnay just a few days before his passing.

Joe is survived by his children Beatrix Keller (Jim), John Warren (Rita), Peter Warren (Tammy) and Robert Warren (Stefanie). He is survived by his grandchildren Johanna Raharuhi (Clive), Justin Warren (Sarah) and Nikol Doughty (Nick), along with Peter’s children Sveta, Anna and Anya Warren and Robert’s children Zoey and Avery Warren. His great grandchildren include Maxson, Sebastian and Paige Raharuhi, Wyatt Warren, and Torin, Ronan, and Keira Doughty. Joe was predeceased by his son Ronald in 2021.