Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Josh Warren, RIP

If you are one of our Rice friends, and remember Josh Warren (Weiss, '96, bio-chem), he passed away unexpectedly this weekend. Here is the obituary:

Joshua John Warren died unexpectedly on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007.

He was born May 23, 1974, in Tuscaloosa. Josh graduated from Emma Sansom High School in 1992, where he was valedictorian of his class. He received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University in 1996 and his doctoral degree in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics from Yale University in 2001. Josh was employed at Duke University as a postdoctoral research associate at the time of his death. His research focused on X-ray crystallographic methods to explore protein structures, particularly as it related to cancer diagnosis. Josh was an exceptional man, with a sense of humor and quick wit balanced by a genuine sense of warmth and concern for his family and friends. Josh never met a stranger and had a wide circle of friends. He was an avid reader and had a variety of interests, including pottery, choral music, whitewater paddling, food and wine, and baseball.


Josh is survived by his wife, Lauren, and their 21Ú2-year-old son, Nathan, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; his parents, Howard and Kathleen Warren, of Gadsden; his sister and brother-in-law, Rebecca and Mario Salas; and a niece, Elena Sofia, of Hoover; his grandmother, June McGuire, of Rainbow City; and his father- and mother-in-law, Fred and Cherie Half, of Palo Alto, Calif.


Memorial services will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, with visitation to follow in the Parrish Hall and at Duke Gardens on Friday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.


Collier-Butler Funeral and Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.


Ben and I didn't know Josh that well, but we had eaten with him (and occasionally Lauren) on our trips through Chapel Hill on the way to Virginia. He was a warm, smart, funny man. His son Nathan is the same age as Josie.

I recommend taking some time today to appreciate the ones you love -- you never know how much longer you -- or they -- have.

May you rest in peace, Josh.

8 comments:

Rob said...

What happened to Josh? I barely knew him and this doesn't seem possible. I haven't been able to find out much information. Thanks.

Sara said...

I'm not sure -- what I was told is that Lauren and he were talking and he just "stopped." One theory is a brain aneurysm, but who knows. I'm not aware of any health issues that would have led to this.

Unknown said...

Josh was my cousin. I got "the call" very early last Sunday ... an awful, terrible tragedy. I wasn't nearly as close to him as some of us and I have nonetheless been a wreck all week ... He was everything you mention, Sara, and much more - thanks for the kind words. He was way, way too young for this to happen.

Anonymous said...

At his age, I was thinking it must have been a traffic accident or something...To hear that is was something else just make the whole thing even more of a tragedy.

Anonymous said...

My heart goes out to his family. I cannot imagine the grief. I remember lots of good time at Wiess.

Anonymous said...

My son, Chris Galloway, called me to tell me of Josh's sudden, unexpected passing. Josh was such an exceptional human being. I feel blessed to have met him memories of him and Lauren and his times playing with Nathan will live in my heart. He was so alive, so caring and sharing and so loving. I am sending Lauren and especially little Nathan love and strength in the hope it will help them to get through this very difficult time. So very sad.

Queen Preschool Sunflower said...

I am the director of Nathan's daycare. I am completely shocked and distraught over this. The Warren Family is the model for all other families in this center: Loving, kind, and just the most wonderful people and parents. Josh was the most awesome dad, and I am just heartbroken. We will do our best to love and shower both Nathan and Lauren as best we can.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sara-
Thanks for posting this- Josh's dad and I wrote it for his hometown newspaper, and I don't think it is otherwise accessible online.

We don't know what happened, but suspect that it may have been an undiagnosed congenital heart problem. Hopefully the autopsy report will give us some more details. All I know thus far is that there was a lot of blood around his heart, but no evidence of aneurysm or obvious trauma.