Obituary of Charles Warner

CHARLES WARNER Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held 11 a.m. Friday, August 31 at Bethesda Lutheran Church. Visitation with the family will be held 5-7 p.m. Thursday at Walker-Merrick-Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel in Clarinda. Memorials are suggested to FFA Brokaw Chapter Building Maintenance at the Museum, Page County Fair Board, or Bethesda Lutheran Church. Charles Edward Warner... father, husband, grandpa, farmer, fisherman, athlete, salesman and all around good guy...born June 11, 1936 to Maude (Winter) and Anselm Warner rural Clarinda, Iowa. He lived 82 years, 2 months and 15 days, passing on August 26, 2018 in Clarinda. Charlie grew up on the Warner family farm west of Hepburn, Ia. He was the fourth child with three older sisters. He attended school at Douglas Township Country School near the family farm. He was active in 4-H and farm life. Charlie graduated from Clarinda High School in 1955 and was an avid athlete and played football, basketball, baseball, ran track high hurdles and high jumped. He was a member of the 1955 Iowa State High School Championship track team and had winning seasons in football and Conference Championships in basketball. He attended Clarinda Community College, played college basketball and later played basketball for the Clarinda Lancers town team. Charlie was united in married to Joan Louise Foster June 24, 1956 celebrating 62 years of marriage this year. Charlie and Joan raised five children: Chari, Shelly, Tracy, Terry, and Cary. He passed on his athletic skills teaching the kids to play sports, fish and hunt. He also set a great example with his fun loving positive attitude. He continued to have fun with his five grandchildren. He briefly worked at Browns Shoe Fit, Blacks Plumbing, Farm Bureau Insurance before farming the Warner century farm. In 1970 he began a 36 year career as underwriter, manager and financial planner for Farm Bureau Financial Services. Warner became a Farm Bureau All American in 1980 and 1997. He hired and trained many agents in Page, Montgomery, and Fremont Counties. A life-long member of Bethesda Lutheran Church, Charlie taught Sunday School and served on the church council. He was a 4-H leader and helped at the county fair. He enjoyed golfing, hunting, watching football and basketball, fishing at the pond and in Canada. He enjoyed traveling and had a goal of traveling to every state. He and Joan went to all but a couple. They also traveled to several European countries. Charlie had a pilots’ license and owned a small airplane with a group of neighbors. He was especially proud of the work he did helping to move and restore the Brokaw FFA Chapter House which sits at the Nodaway County Museum. When they moved to town in 1984 Charlie took pride in hanging red Christmas lights on the big pine trees in their large yard on Boundary that lit up the neighborhood. He fought a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease which finally took his life. He enjoyed his great grandkids till the end and glimpses of his positive zest for life on occasion could still be seen by family and caregivers. He was preceded in death by his parents Maude Winter Warner and Anselm Warner; his sisters Maxine Sunderman, Roseanna Sunderman and Mary Brownlee; a nephew Van Brownlee; and brother-in-law Mike Kling; aunts Margaret (Art) Mier, Edla and Ruby Warner; and parents-in-law Boyd and Eva (Cahill) Foster. He is survived by his wife Joan; children Chari Bix (Mike) of Clarinda, Shelly Warner of Shenandoah, Tracy Warner (Pam) of Clarinda, Terry Warner of Clarinda, and Cary Correll (Milton) of Clarinda; grandchildren Corey Bix of Chicago, Amanda Vardaman (Ben) of Clarinda, step grandson Chris Cook of Shenandoah (Erin), Megan Elliot (Joe) of Ankeny, Anna Hopkins (Fletcher) of Clarksville, TN; great grandchildren Dylan, Colyn, Evalyn Vardaman, Keegan and Kylea Elliot, Morgan, Ellie, Averie Cook; brothers-in-law Arlo Sunderman of Clarinda and Bruce Brownlee of Des Moines; sisters-in-law Judy Euken (Craig) of Red Oak, Joyce Kling of Aplington; also many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.