Leading Light: Civic leader Chuck Warren, who led many of Colorado’s leading cultural institutions from the Denver Zoo to the Park People, passed away on July 29, 2018.
by Mark Smiley
Widely respected and beloved by many, civic leader Chuck Warren died at age 92 on Sunday, July 29, at his home in Denver. Memorial services were held at Saint John’s Cathedral on Washington Street where Warren had been a parishioner for most of his adult life. Eulogist Bill Houston remarked that Warren was known for his extraordinary ability to “make and retain” friends as the packed nave at the cathedral for the service demonstrated.
Warren grew up in Fort Collins, and after serving in the Navy during World War II returned to Colorado to earn a degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado and later a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Denver. He was a stock broker for Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith for 20 years and after the death of his father in 1978 he took over as president of Moody Warren Company, a company started by his grandfather who homesteaded farms in Colorado starting in 1966.
Having made his fortune at a relatively early age, Warren retired and spent the rest of his life giving back to Denver and Colorado. He served as the president and/or board member of an extraordinary number of civic organizations including, but not limited to, the Denver Zoo, the Denver Foundation, Children’s Hospital, the Park People and the Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation.
He is best remembered as Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District from 1985 to 1988, and setting up the passage of the multi-county sales tax supporting many key institutions throughout metropolitan Denver.
A talented musician, he played drums with groups from his early teens to the end of his life. An enthusiastic member of the University Club, he was Club president and a prolific songwriter, performer and leader of the University Club Band. He played the drums at the Twelfth Night Show for an extraordinary 64 continuous years.
Veteran: Chuck Warren served in the Navy during World War II.
He was also a highly active member of the Denver Country Club for virtually his entire adult life. He helped longtime friend Bill Wilbur with the publication of the award-winning The History of The Denver Country Club (1888-2006).
His daughter Robin Warren Buckalew noted at the memorial service her father’s almost infatiguable energy and good humor. Hoping to slow him down just a little she bought him a hammock for the backyard which had to be returned as he refused to ever relax in it.
Chuck Bonniwell, publisher of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle, who wrote the history of the Denver Country Club stated, “Chuck Warren was an extraordinary human being who made everything he did and participated in literally fun. One would go through the most exhausting and contentious negotiations over the printing and publication of the book with third parties and at the end he would laugh and say, ‘Boy, wasn’t that one great donnybrook! Hey, who do we have to take on next?’” Bonniwell went on to note, “Everyone who ever knew Chuck will greatly miss him. The world he inhabited is a little less joyful with his passing. I wish we could have cloned Chuck and his wonderful spirit.”