GLOBE TROTTERS
BILL AND JAY WARREN, WEDDING, AUGUST 20, 1949.
Let’s Get Away From it All—MATT DENNIS & TOM ADAIR, 1941
Drafted into the Army in 1944 at age 18, Bill Warren served his country for two years—most of it in the European theater. The experiences he endured at such a tender age profoundly affected him. “I shipped out to Europe,” he recalled. “We were replacement troops for those lost in the Battle of the Bulge. We were a task force trained for fighting.” The young soldier was part of an ammunition and pioneer platoon engaged in a fierce struggle along the Siegfried line. “Our goal was Saarbrucken,” he explained, describing the city situated near the French border.
“Because we were a munitions group, we were sent out at night,” he said.
One night he fell into an exhausted sleep under a table. “They were looking for me to go out on patrol, but they couldn’t find me.” He paused and glanced down at his hands. “Out of the 12 men who went out that night, only one came back.” He doesn’t gloss over his combat experience. “A lot of it was horrible—nothing to glorify war.” Like many soldiers, he returned home wondering why he’d been spared when so many others were not. All he knew was that he wanted to live a life that mattered.
Part of living that life began with a blind date in 1946, in Troy, New York.
Upon his discharge from the Army, Bill had enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. A fraternity buddy set him up with Elizabeth “Jay” Lee, who was attending college nearby. They went to a football game, followed by supper and dancing at the fraternity house.
“Honestly, I remember thinking, I wasn’t impressed with Bill,” Jay recalled. Instead she viewed the date as a way to meet other fellows in his fraternity. Bill, however, was smitten and immediately wanted to ask for another date. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember Jay’s last name. “But my friend told me, so I gave her a call.”
BILL WARREN, 1945.
By 1947 they were an item. “We met each other’s families,” Jay said. “And our mothers had tea one afternoon.” Long conversations about world affairs, travel and children became a hallmark of their courtship. “I’ve always enjoyed being with her,” said Bill. They both wanted children and were keenly interested in exploring the world around them, but when it came to politics, the discussions were a bit more heated.
Jay laughed and said, “Let me put it this way, we talked politics—even-tually we agreed. My dad was a strong Democrat and Bill’s dad was a Republican.”
During the summer of 1948, they found jobs in Cape Cod at an inn. “There was a lake across the street, and a mountain with a lookout tower,” Jay said. One evening, they hiked up to the lookout tower, and Bill took a ring out of his pocket and proposed. Jay’s parents were staying in a nearby motel, and the excited couple pounded on their door and woke them, to share the news.
“My dad said, ‘We have to toast this!’” said Jay. “But all they had in the motel room was scotch and cranberry juice, so that’s what we toasted our engagement with.”
They married on August 20, 1949, in Highland Falls, New York, and a year later moved to Colorado so Bill could pursue a master’s degree in management engineering. He thought he’d left military service behind him, but halfway through the year, he was recalled by the Army. The Korean War had begun, and because he’d done ROTC in college, this time Bill went in as a 2nd lieutenant. “I served a year and a half and never had to go overseas,” he said.
In 1951, the couple moved to Texas where Bill taught school and the first of their children arrived. When they’d been dating, the couple had talked about how many children they wanted. They agreed four kids would be nice, but six would be perfect. They ended up with seven. Jay said large families were common at the time. “I think it was a result of having lived through the war years,” she said. “It was a relief. The world was positive—at least our little part of it was.”
BILL AND JAY, DATING, 1948.
Bill received his master’s degree in 1954 and accepted a job at Harvard Business School. A succession of teaching jobs took the growing family across the east coast. Eventually, they wound up in Massachusetts where Bill worked in the education department of Polaroid. While there they heard about President Kennedy’s Peace Corps. “In those long talks we had before we married, we talked about wanting to work overseas,” Jay said.
When Bill was offered a position with the newly formed Peace Corps he immediately took it, without discussing it with his wife. He knew she’d be thrilled—and she was. “It was like something wonderful dropped in our laps,” she said. So with six kids under ten, they moved to the Philippines.
“Our families were wonderfully supportive,” Jay said. “They never once said, What the hell are you guys doing!?” After two years in the Philippines, the family traveled to Nepal, where Bill served as Peace Corps Director for a year.
In 1964 they moved to New Jersey, where their seventh child was born. They weren’t there long—Bill had taken a job with the Education Development Center and was soon asked if he’d be willing to relocate to Kenya, so once again, the family eagerly embarked on a new adventure. Bill enjoyed his work. “I developed hands-on science material for kids in English-speaking areas of Africa,” he said. “That program is still being used in eight countries.” Jay found plenty to do as well. “She was never home,” Bill said, laughing. Thanks to household help, she was able to work in local orphanages and implement adoption programs.
From Kenya, they returned to the States. Bill took a job as an elementary school principal in Massachusetts, and when their youngest child started kindergarten, Jay went back to college, eventually earning a master’s degree in social work. She worked for an educational collaborative, and after 14 years as a school principal, Bill joined her, taking a position as a therapist for troubled teens.
In the late 1980s they both began to cut back their caseloads, and finally retired in 1992. Several years ago Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and once again they decided to move cross-country—this time to be near their two youngest children.
When asked the secret to a six-decade marriage, Jay shook her head and laughed. “I don’t give advice anymore.” Bill said choosing the right person is paramount. “Marrying Jay was the best decision I ever made,” he said. “She’s the most wonderful person in the world. I have Parkinson’s but she is there for me. My nickname for her is Wonder Woman.”
His wife shrugged off his praise. “I don’t do anything major—I button his buttons,” she said.
“Driving is major!” Bill countered.
“Yes, I do the driving now,” she agreed. Then she smiled at him. “He’s just my Bill.”
From their living room they turned their gaze to a picture window and watched as a storm swept in. Bill cleared his throat. “Wherever we traveled, as long as we were together—it was home.”
LOVE LESSON
“When went through difficult patches, we sought therapy. No shame in that. It’s a good thing to know when to ask for help.”—Jay Warren
BILL AND JAY WARREN, 2011. Courtesy Colin Mulvany, Spokesman Review
Bill Warren died April 14, 2014