Charles Daniel Warren

On October 4, 2024, Charles Daniel “Danny” Warren, 69, after a series of battles involving advanced metastatic cancer, passed away seemingly suddenly, and very peacefully in his home Las Cruces, in the arms of his wife Lisa, flanked by Phillip and Bridgette, two of his four adult children who reside in Las Cruces. 

A Las Cruces native born May 17, 1955, Danny was the son of Charles Edgar “Charlie” Warren and Bess (Evans) Warren and brother to Elizabeth Jo (B.J.) Getz, James (Jimmy) Leslie Warren, and Carroll Ann Curtis. He attended Alameda Elementary School, Alameda Junior High, and Mayfield High School, graduating in 1973. Charles Sr. made sure his children learned to water ski, snow ski, camp and hike from tender young ages, starting on his shoulders even. As a result, Danny and siblings each have lifelong “mostly-marvelous” memories from the lake at Elephant Butte, Sierra Blanca (now Ski Apache) in Ruidoso, Cloudcroft and their favorite spots in Colorado and Mexico.

In elementary and middle school, Danny swam for the swim team now known as Las Cruces Aquatic Team (LCAT), learning self-discipline by rising early enough to attend daily morning practice before school. At Mayfield High School, he chose to wrestle instead of swim, and also played football under Coach Jim Bradley. Throughout his childhood, Danny contributed his efforts to the family business, Warren Lumber & Paint, where he started developing his cheerful work ethic. By the age of eleven (1966), he could be seen delivering loads of lumber via forklift across town to the university for construction projects. As a teenager, he worked summer jobs at the onion shed, as well as construction projects with his father. 

After graduating from high school in 1973, Danny very proudly served in the U.S. Navy as a Sonar Technician on a fast-track nuclear submarine stationed at Naval Base San Diego, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, and Mare Island Naval Base, California. After his four-year enlistment, Danny worked in California at a flour mill and then as a Structural Firefighter before returning to the Land of Enchantment. He spent some time in Ruidoso, where again he skied every chance he got (he also enjoyed skiing Taos, Santa Fe, and Purgatory), and resumed working construction projects with his father, and then worked in the homebuilding industry in Las Cruces. 

In 1980, Danny was hired at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) as an Electronic Technician for Range Timing, and soon after that, was transferred to the Office of the Test Directorate (aka Precision Guided Weapons and presently known as Center for Counter Measures). Danny’s career included serving for several years as the Electro-Optical LASER Lab Chief. In 2015, he retired with 38 years of combined federal service, but after a medical hiatus, he realized he missed it, so Danny returned to work at WSMR for a contractor doing similar work on behalf of the Department of Defense until March of 2022. As part of his work building the defense capabilities of our country, Danny traveled throughout the United States and the world, travelling to places including Australia, England, Norway, Canada, and Prague. 

One of Danny’s most exceptional talents was his ability to fix anything. He often could manage a temporary fix for something that most people would say was unfixable. His ingenuity, though hard to replicate, was always incredible to witness. Undoubtedly, this, plus his sheer determination and “get er’ done” attitude, took him far in his 43-year career working for the U.S. Government/Department of Defense. 

Danny and Lisa were in their 36th year together on their way to Forever, having melded their lives as formerly single parents of Amanda Rhea (born 1985) and Miles Adam (born 1984), respectively, into a family of six after Phillip Charles and Bridgette Renee were born in 1990 and 1991. Danny’s ingenuity and building skills helped make dreams come true. One time he impulsively ordered a massive amount of adobe bricks to be delivered to the front yard, and thus commenced Family Project Part 1, that would not be fully completed for over two decades. On weekends and summers, all Warrens of various sizes, ages, and genders could be seen from N. Valley drive mixing mud and placing the adobes as the rows rose. Danny’s brother Jimmy and a few others would occasionally assist, especially in the summer when kid supervision was needed to ensure the work continued while parents were at their day jobs. Ultimately, Adobedero Dan and his family successfully built a hefty six-foot adobe wall surrounding most of their property. Family Project Part 2 of the dream consisted of working with a local contractor to blend the vintage old adobe house with a new section constructed of rammed earth, providing still modest, but significantly more living space. 

In addition to his passion for skiing, which was weather-dependent and became costly for a family of six, Danny had an almost equal passion for mountain bike riding and Kojosho karate. He, with other family members, studied Kojosho in the dojo weekly with Jack Diehl, under Chief Instructor for the International Kojosho Karate Federation, Fred Absher. Danny eventually earned his black belt. Danny also enjoyed recreational golfing, racquetball, tennis, and table tennis, the latter three of which he and his wife Lisa played together, as well as partnered against Lisa’s parents in more competitive settings. Danny enjoyed many trips to expose his children to mountains, snow, lakes, and water so they could experience what he loved. Lisa regrets never buying Danny a boat.

Above all, Danny was a family man. He was a devoted, kind, generous, fun, and clever brother, husband, father, and grandfather. He had many aunts, uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews, near and far, and wished it had been possible to spend more time with the Warren/Getz, West, Breaux, and Lauritsen/Kouri extended family members. He fiercely loved his immediate family and couldn’t have been prouder of his four children, now grown with their own careers and families, giving him seven grandchildren whom he dearly loved, mentored, as well as teased, tickled, poked, prodded, kissed and cuddled at every chance he got. It made him sad that as his illness overtook him, they could no longer jump all over him. 

Surviving family includes wife Lisa Lauritsen Warren; children Amanda Warren, Miles Houser (Michelle Herrera), Phillip Warren (Abby Warren), and Bridgette Warren Piñon (Christopher Piñon); Grandchildren Jamie, Parker, Charlie and Wiley Warren, Gracie, Augustus, and Lilly Piñon; and Sister Carroll Curtis. 

Danny is also survived by many cousins, in-laws, and three generations of nieces and nephews, each of whom he loved very much. The family wishes to acknowledge and THANK special friends and family who helped hands-on with certain tasks, or who traveled to spend time with Danny, as well as many others who respectfully supported from a distance yet offered repeatedly to help during Danny and Lisa’s time of great need. 

Danny was pre-deceased by many beloved family members, including: parents Charles and Bess Warren, nephew Clay Warren Curtis, sister Betty Jo Getz, brother Jimmy Warren, nephew Steven Getz, niece Caitlyn Curtis, and grand-niece Rylei Getz. 

There will be no Visitation. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Life service officiated by Jess Williams at 2:00 p.m. on October 28, 2024, at Getz Funeral Home Chapel. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either Cowboys for Cancer Research, to support ongoing cancer research, in partnership with both NMSU and UNM: C4CR Donation - Cowboys For Cancer Research (mybigcommerce.com, OR to Help in Healing Home located on the Mayo Clinic campus in Phoenix, Arizona to support patients and their caregivers as they receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic: support us - Help In Healing Home : Help In Healing Home.