James Thomas Warrens

Jim will be missed terribly by his family and friends. He was a husband, a father, a granddad, a big brother, a son, a friend, a singer, an engineer. We all knew he loved us. He was our giant teddy bear, a truly kind soul. And a bit of a prankster. Ask one of us about the anniversary cake or the cymbals.

Jim grew up in Kansas City and studied math and then mechanical engineering at Catholic University and Kansas. He played basketball through his freshman year in college, was a referee, and enjoyed watching games. Well, up until recent years. He was quick to tell you that it wasn’t the game he grew up with anymore and was nothing more than a 3-point shooting contest. He enjoyed other sports as well, but was quick to call the Cowboys the Cowgirls any time they weren’t playing well.

Rhonda was the love of his life. They lived and raised their girls in Delaware, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas before coming to Texas in 1985. Throughout their marriage they served the church together, primarily through music ministry but also by being Eucharistic ministers and facilitating marriage preparation sessions.

If you knew Jim, you almost definitely heard him sing. From school choir to church to high school musicals to barbershop to Christmas carols to silly songs in the car, his beautiful bass was a constant in his life that he gladly shared with everyone around him. To borrow one of his own phrases, if I had a nickel for every time someone told me how much they enjoyed his singing I’d be rich.

He was not a man of many words, but had a wealth of knowledge. The girls could get him talking by asking him how something worked or was made. He good-naturedly complained about being outnumbered by the females in the house. He taught all three of us how to drive stick which should earn him bonus points of some sort.

His strong hands went easily from closing jars more tightly than they came to cradling a baby. And if there was a baby to be held in the room, he would find it. He loved babies and they loved him. They sensed his gentle strength and love. The one thing those hands couldn’t do was work with really small pieces. There was many a time he’d call Rhonda or one of the girls when he was working on a project, hollering that he needed smaller hands. We held a lot of parts while he soldered electronics.

As part of his rehab for the first broken leg Jim started biking, and continued well into his seventies, racking up 2000 miles a year. He loved to ride out to the observation area at the airport and take a break to watch the airplanes come in. He knew when the 777 was due to come in and often timed his rides accordingly.

He is preceded in death by his mother Rose Warrens and his father Tom Warrens. He is survived by his wife Rhonda; daughters Jenni McKienzie and her husband Dave, and Jamie Bearden and her wife Johnna; granddaughters Maddie McKienzie, Molly McKienzie, and Bailey Bearden; and his siblings Doug Warrens and his wife Cathy, Barbie Warrens and her partner Dave Torbett, and Debi Reeves.

Rhonda requests that you not wear black to his service but rather help us celebrate his wonderful life and all the good memories we have. Wear his favorite color, blue, or your own favorite. And maybe someday soon, eat some lasagna and think of him. If you’d like to make a donation in his name, we would suggest Covenant House of Texas.