John Sheldon Warren

April 29, 1922 - June 2, 2016

John Warren passed away at his home in Pacific Palisades on June 2 at the age of 94 with family by his side.

John was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Victor Lawrence Warren and Sytske Korthof Warren. He attended Washburn High School and went on to the University of Minnesota where he earned his B.S. degree in 1943. John joined the US Navy and served as captain of a ship in the Pacific during World War II. After the Navy, John moved to California and settled in San Francisco. He earned his Law degree from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1950. In his early law career, he was tax counsel to the California Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento. John moved to Los Angeles in 1957 to start his long and distinguished career at Loeb & Loeb. He became a partner in 1960 and remained a partner at the firm until his retirement in 2004. John had an extensive practice in state and local taxation, handled significant California tax litigation, and lectured and wrote articles on tax matters. He was an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School from 1977 to 1988. He received the Dana Latham Memorial Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1988. John served as Trustee of the Fred H. Bixby Foundation for many years, extending into his retirement. He also served as a Board Director of The Arboretum at Flagstaff for more than 20 years.

In 1962, John married Katrin “Kata” Einarsdottir, who he met through mutual friends in San Francisco in 1961. Kata was the love of his life, and they were happily married for 33 years until her passing in 1995. Their first home was in the Hollywood Hills, and then they moved to Pacific Palisades in 1968 with their two young children Vicki and Erik. John and Kata enjoyed many adventures, traveling to Africa, China, Alaska, and Europe, and enjoyed many visits to Kata’s native Iceland. They were gracious hosts of many gatherings at their home for the enjoyment of their friends and family. They were both involved at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, where John sang in the choir for 30 years. John helped to establish the St. Matthew’s Music Guild and enjoyed attending their concerts for many years.

John had a lifelong love for gardening, and enjoyed caring for his garden well into his old age. He was a loyal sports fan, following the Dodgers, Lakers and Rams. He was a natural outdoorsman, climbing Mt. Whitney as a young man, taking his family on camping trips, and enjoying annual birthday hikes in our local mountains with his children until the age of 88. He also enjoyed a variety of cultural and social events with his dear friend Yvonne Segerstrom. He cooked dinner for his children every Sunday, and lived independently for 93 of his 94 years. In his later years, he enjoyed the companionship of our good friend Stephen who took him to appointments and shopping so he could remain independent. In the last year of his life he was blessed to have devoted caregivers at home, though he still made his own meals until a few weeks before his passing.

John is survived by his daughter Vicki of Pacific Palisades, his son Erik (Kari Ann) of Thousand Oaks, a grandson and two step-grandsons. He will also be missed by his niece Diane and nephew Dave in Minnesota and a large family in Iceland. One of the greatest blessings of his last years was getting to know his grandson. John brought love and joy to his family, and was always a true gentleman. We will miss him very much, but his spirit will always be with us.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday July 10 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave, Pacific Palisades. In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to the St. Matthews Music Guild (musicguildonline.org) or to The Arboretum at Flagstaff (thearb.org).