Beth Warren stepped from her earthly home into the embrace of her heavenly Father on August 15, 2021 at the age of 92. She was born in San Antonio, Texas, on January 3, 1929 as Zinona Beth Stewart. “Nonie,” as she was known as a girl, attended Brackenridge High School during the war years, graduating in 1946. Vibrant and outgoing, she joined many school clubs, volunteered as a Home Nurse, and was a member of the Purple Jackets girls drill team. She loved drama, photography, and singing. Her teenage ambition was to be a radio actress!
She attended Texas State College for Women in Denton, Texas, but marriage to Bill Klabunde on August 28, 1949 cut short her college career. Bill and Beth moved to Fort Worth in 1950. In 1952, they moved to California, where they met their lifelong friends, Dick and Charlotte Day. Charlotte played a key role in Beth’s spiritual growth as a Christian, along with Beth’s older brother and his wife, Ed and Joyce Stewart.
In California, Beth gave birth to Larry in 1956 and Bryce in 1961. She loved being a wife and mother, and when a job transfer moved the family to Huntsville, Alabama, in 1963, she devoted herself to filling her home with love and lots of laughter. Beth’s warm brown eyes, beautiful smile, and engaging personality radiated joy to everyone she met, and she made many dear friends in Alabama. She volunteered in the children’s ministry at church, sang in the choir, and was a speaker in Christian Women’s Club.
In 1979, a job transfer sent the family back to California, where Bill retired and Beth could enjoy being “Grammie” to her seven grandchildren. In 2003, they followed Bryce’s family to Frisco, Texas, which happened to be the hometown of Beth’s grandparents, John and Alice Hill. As a child, Beth had visited her grandparents in Frisco many times, and now she had come back to her roots.
After the death of her devoted husband of 58 years in 2007, Beth was content to live as a single. But, in 2013, God sent the most loving and gracious man into her life, Bob Warren, former mayor of Frisco. Bob married Beth on her birthday, January 3, 2014, and they moved into Parkview retirement community. They loved each other deeply and were the best of companions, faithfully caring for one another until her passing. Beth considered herself to be the most blessed woman in the world, but those who knew and loved her would say they were the ones who were blessed the most.
Beth is survived by her husband, Bob Warren of Frisco, TX; her children, Larry Klabunde of Powell, OH, and Dr. Bryce Klabunde and his wife, Jolene, of Denton, TX; her step-children, Don Warren and his wife, Karen, of Mesquite, TX, Kay Warren of Frisco, Phil Warren and his wife, Marilyn, of Frisco, Dr. Van Warren and his wife, Susan, of Albuquerque, NM, and Tami Marlin and her husband, Tommy, of San Antonio; her grandchildren, Christopher Klabunde (Brittany), Kayla Klabunde, Lanae Klabunde (Julian Sainz), Joshua Klabunde (Allison Hildebrand), Aimee Culp (Drew), Jonathan Klabunde, Hanna Klabunde; her great-grandchildren, Eliza and Noelle Klabunde; her sister-in-law, Joyce Stewart; her nieces, Jamie Hancock and Janice Stewart; and her nephew, Craig Stewart (Dana).
She is preceded in death by her husband, Bill Klabunde; her daughter-in-law, Donna Klabunde; her brother, Ed Stewart; and her parents, Mary and Albert Stewart.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites those who wish to honor Beth’s memory by making a donation in her name to her favorite mission, GoGo Grandmothers. Founded by Dick and Charlotte Day, this ministry supports grandmothers in Malawi, Africa, who care for young children whose parents have died because of the AIDS epidemic. Make a donation by going to gogograndmothers.com/donate and selecting “The Beth Warren Memorial.” Checks can be made payable to Gogo Grandmothers, 3460 Marron Road, Suite 103-476, Oceanside, CA 92056.
A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, August 28, 2021, at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, 8520 Main St., Frisco, Texas, 75033. For those in attendance the family request you wear a mask.
For those not in attendance, the service will be live streamed promptly at 3:00 PM on the Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, Frisco Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow-Frisco-757595044332865/