The Life of William Lyons Warrick

Bill Warrick passed away peacefully on December 29, 2017 at his apartment at Sunrise Senior Living in Seal Beach, Calif. Bill was four days short of his 92nd birthday. He was quite fit and active into his late eighties, but suffered from the effects of memory loss during the last five years of his life.

William Lyons Warrick was born in Scranton Pennsylvania January 2, 1926, the son of a successful highway engineer. His family lived in several cities and towns in Pennsylvania as they followed Bill's father's career, finally settling in Hollidaysburg PA in the late 1930s. Bill graduated from Hollidaysburg High School in 1943.

Bill served in the Army from 1943 to 1946, trained as an M4 Sherman tank driver and gunner. He shipped out to Europe in late 1944, celebrating his nineteenth birthday on a troop ship crossing the North Atlantic in the dead of winter. Bill's unit, the 26th Tank Battalion 16th Armored Division, appeared in combat for the first time just prior to VE Day in May 1945.

After World War II, Bill attended Penn State University, graduating in 1949. He participated in ROTC and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Bill narrowly missed being called up a second time to serve in the Korean War.

Bill married Joan Gramly of Altoona PA in 1949. The marriage lasted 41years and produced two sons, Bill and Dave. Joan, who was also a graduate of Penn State, worked as a primary school teacher until the boys were born. The family moved frequently as Bill moved up the career ladder. Joan became skillful at buying, renovating, and selling homes.

Also in 1949, Bill began his career with Atlantic Refining Company, later known as Atlantic Richfield or ARCO. He started out as a local sales rep in western Pennsylvania, but gradually moved to positions of greater responsibility in marketing and product distribution. At various times, Bill was based in Pittsburgh, Erie, Philadelphia, New York,Chicago, and L.A. After retiring from ARCO in 1985, Bill worked in Spain as an oil industry consultant, and later did similar consulting in Latin America.

In 1992 Bill married Jean Moore, a fellow ARCO retiree who was originally from the Philadelphia area. Bill and Jean created a beautiful home together in Carlsbad Calif., and shared many interests, including volunteer work for Retirement Housing Foundation. They traveled the world until her death in 2004.

 Bill was buried next to Jean Moore Warrick in Drexel Hill Pennsylvania on January 8, 2018