Recognized by city officials as a fundamental force behind Frisco’s present-day success, Warren served Frisco as mayor from 1989-96 after six years on City Council, according to a city news release confirming his death. He was 102 years old.
“Those that knew Mayor Warren saw his gentle loving soul,” Mayor Jeff Cheney said in a Facebook post. “He was always so encouraging of me and other council members. He had a quick wit and always found a way to make others laugh and smile.”
Born in 1921 in what is now downtown Frisco, Warren’s name and legacy has been cemented and celebrated in multiple tangible ways over the decades: Warren Parkway, the Warren Sports Complex and a clock in the city’s center with his name engraved on its base.
In a 2018 interview with Community Impact, the then-97-year-old former mayor said he almost never ran for office.
“I said, ‘I don’t know anything about being a mayor or anything about politics,’” Warren said in the interview. “I said, ‘No thank you.’”
Warren’s legacy reaches beyond his work with the city. After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, now the Air Force, serving until the 1960s when he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
His work as a founding member of the Frisco Heritage Association and on multiple city committees as well as the books and writings he leaves behind adds to his legacy as a “Frisco treasure,” according to the news release.
“He lived a life well-lived and leaves a legacy that will stand the test of time,” Cheney said in his post.
As of March 14, a time and place for his funeral service has not been announced. Those wishing to remember his life and legacy can go to a Facebook page dedicated to his memory.
