Donald Joseph Warden

Donald Joseph Warden, age 85, died peacefully at home on Monday, January 13, 2025. Born in Moscow, Ohio, on February 2, 1939, to Charles and Ruth Warden, Don was the youngest of three children and the only boy. He married the love of his life Brenda Joyce Hushour of Rural Retreat, Virginia, in 1965 and they lived in Alaska before settling in Texas in 1966. Don and Joyce were married for 57 years until Joyce’s passing in 2023. Their dog Baylee was a great comfort for Don in the years after Joyce’s death.

Don was a quiet man with a dry sense of humor and an unwavering love for his family and flying. After graduating Moscow High School as Valedictorian in 1957, Don became a certified commercial pilot in 1958, followed by a tour in the United States Air Force from 1961 to 1965. Most notably, he was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, and was a part of the historic SAC Airborne Command Post, Operation Looking Glass. Don’s career in the aerospace industry began in 1965 at Philco Ford Corporation and ended at his retirement over 30 years later from Lockheed Martin Aerospace. During his time at NASA, he worked at mission control on the Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo missions, then finished his career at Ellington Air Force Base working as a PC/LAN manager and lead engineer in support of NASA’s Shuttle Training Aircraft.

Despite his hard work and accomplishments while working for NASA, Don still loved to fly and did it every chance he got. He was a certified flight instructor of single and multi-engine land aircraft from 1974 to 1987 and would spend many evenings and most weekends at Fletcher Aviation sharing his knowledge and love of flying with his students. Family vacations for the Warden family were most often taken via a four-seater Cessna aircraft to Virginia, Ohio, and Florida with Don as the pilot, Joyce white-knuckling the armrest in the co-pilot’s seat, and Paula and Pamela playing games and gazing out the windows in the back.

After Don retired, he occupied his new-found free time by working on and building computers. He was always the man everyone called with a computer problem or question. He loved learning about new technology, solving complex computer issues, and presenting newly built computers to his family and friends.

Don was preceded in death by his wife Joyce; sisters, Edith Marie Holman and Janet Erdman; and parents Charles and Ruth Warden. He is survived by his daughters and their husbands Paula and Stephen Hawkins of League City, Texas and Pamela and Nathan Juett of Kralendijk, Bonaire, as well as many more beloved family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Don’s memory to League City Animal Care, 755 West Walker Street, League City, TX 77573, or via www.leaguecity.com

A visitation for Donald will be held Friday, January 17, 2025, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Forest Park East Funeral Home, 21620 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX 77598. Following the visitation will be a committal service from 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM at Forest Park East Funeral Home & Cemetery, 21620 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX 77598.