Obituary for Ronald (Bud) Warren II

Ronald A. (Bud) Warren II, age 76, died December 4, 2021, from complications related to covid. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jan; and their sons, Ron (Monique), Nick (Amy) and Matt (Lisa). He is also survived by five grandchildren, Jax, Mac, Mitch, Reese, and Briggs, and three step-grandchildren, Addy, Aiden and Ashlyn; sister, Arlene; and many special nieces and nephews, other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ronnie and Eleanor Warren and three sisters, Judy, Kathy and Lynn.

Ron was born in Minneapolis on January 10, 1945, to Eleanor and Ronnie Warren, the fourth child and only boy in a family of five children. When his sister Judy tried to call him ‘brother’ it usually came out ‘budder’. That caught on and after a while budder was shortened to Bud, and that stuck for the rest of his life.

He attended Benilde High School in St. Louis Park, where he loved playing football, basketball and baseball. He was so proud that he was part of the team that won the State Catholic High School basketball tournament in 1963, the year he graduated. He loved his years at Benilde and made many life long friends there.

He attended St. John’s University, Collegeville, and Mankato State University, where he earned a degree in Public Administration. He completed all of the coursework for a Master’s Degree but started his working career before completing his final paper.

Bud was proud of his service in the U. S. Navy, where he served on the aircraft carrier the USS Yorktown, in 1968 and 1969. During his service time, he traveled the world and also patrolled the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. In the U. S. he served on the ship from Hawaii to Norfolk, VA, where he and Jan lived for a short time.

While serving, he was also able to travel to England, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and Rio de Janeiro.

While in Hawaii, the Yorktown was the ship that picked up the capsule and crew from the Apollo 8 spacecraft when it landed in the ocean, and the crew was on the deck of the ship. The Yorktown was also used for shots of a movie when Bud was on it. The movie was ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’ with John Wayne. The ship traveled through the Panama Canal when heading from San Diego to Norfolk. Bud and other crew members who hadn’t been through the Canal before had to undergo an initiation for ‘newbies’.

His entire working career was at the City of Brooklyn Center. His first positions were assistant to the Police Chief and assistant to the City Manager. He then moved to the Planning Department, where he was Director of Planning and Inspections and City Planner. For many years, he was the liaison to various city planning groups and was responsible for presenting the groups decisions to the City Council. He had lots of night meetings!

But despite having a busy career, his first priority was always his family. He would often leave his office to attend one of their activities and then return to work for a meeting. He could often be seen standing at the sidelines of a game, wearing a suit and tie.

Bud loved spending time at the family cabin in Hill City, since 2004. He had so many fun times there, with family and friends. He loved playing golf, cruising the lake in his pontoon, or just relaxing.

For many years, he was heavily involved as a volunteer in hockey, a sport he never played but grew to love after his three sons all started playing. Bud served the District 3 Hockey Association as an arbitrator. He also managed teams of high school players participating in the Great 8 High Performance tournament for many years.

Whether you knew him as Ron or Bud, you were privileged to know a wonderful man. He has been remembered as strong, caring, gracious, classy, loving, good friend and one of the greatest guys ever. He was all of these and more and he will be deeply missed and always loved.

Visitation is 4-7 PM Monday, December 13, 2021 at Evans-Nordby Funeral Home (34 2nd St. N.E., Osseo) and one-hour prior to Mass. Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 AM Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church (9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park). Interment to follow at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

For those unable to attend, please join via live stream at the following link: https://vimeo.com/654242499/160492256e