Warren William Aney Jr.

Warren Aney lived a life not easily distilled into a typical obituary.  

The multitude of hats he wore included wildlife biologist, ecologist, soldier, peace maker, historian, wine grower, hunter safety instructor, author, competitive marksman, church leader, outdoorsman and environmental activist.

And whatever he did, he did fully.

Warren came into the world at Forest Lake, Minnesota as the first child of Hazel and Warren Aney Sr. The family, including his younger sister Colleen, moved to Umatilla, Oregon when he was 12. His father, who along with Hazel ran a secondhand shop and later a hardware store, served as mayor of Umatilla for a time. At age 14, Warren met the love of his life Joyce Johnson at a church camp at Anthony Lake. Joyce’s extroversion complemented Warren’s more introspective nature. Warren graduated from Umatilla High School in 1954.

All his life, Warren’s stiff Swedish side hug and tendency to escape from social gatherings to read in a quiet corner belied his deep connection to family and friends. Warren and Joyce married in 1956 and raised three children, Bill, Julie and John, along with several foster children.

Warren’s professional resume requires a fair bit of time to wade through and maybe a cup of coffee for sustenance before perusing pages of professional positions, publications and awards. 

Warren enlisted in the Oregon Army National Guard at age 16 after his parents signed a consent form. He studied fish and game management at Oregon State College, graduating in 1958, and later earned a master’s degree in ecological statistics from Oregon State University in 1972. While an undergraduate he was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity and the ROTC, where he proved to be an expert marksman. He was commissioned after college graduation, served for about 9 months before returning to Oregon and joining the Oregon Army National Guard, serving for six decades. He had a passion for Oregon military history and eventually served as the Guard’s staff historian and later as a history consultant to the Guard.

His career with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife included stints as a technician, basin biologist, systems ecologist, supervisor of the Northeast Region in La Grande and several years as special assistant to the director. The Wildlife Society recognized him with the Oregon Chapter’s David B. Marshall lifetime achievement award and a Distinguished Service Award from the national group in 2015.

After retiring from ODFW he spent about 10 years as a certified ecologist, conducting field surveys and writing ecosystem management plans in the Pacific Northwest and the South Pacific. His field biology included a passion for the overlooked species and is credited with discovering a previously unknown species of snail in the Columbia Gorge.

Warren was a wine enthusiast and contributed to early efforts to launch wine growing in the Willamette Valley. He started sampling wines while stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia at the base liquor store which was across the street from his quarters. Later, he made friends with Chuck Coury, David Lett and Dick Erath, three of Oregon’s wine-growing pioneers and planted his own grapes on Bald Peak, near Newberg, to test out the terroir. To help aspiring Oregon wine growers, he had a professional paper published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture (1974) comparing the climate of the Oregon to the wine growing regions of Europe.

Warren was known for his open and nimble mind. In the late 1960’s, the back window of his Volkswagen squareback bore two seemingly discordant decals, one for the American Civil Liberties Union and another for the National Rifle Association. He believed both organizations stood for civil and constitutional protections, but later broke away from the NRA saying the organization had lost its way.

Warren was a Hunter Safety Instructor for decades, teaching more than 1,000 young people skills in firearms safety, outdoor survival, woodsmanship and hunting. He loved spending time outdoors, and he and his eldest son Bill spent many days in the field camping, fishing, and hunting; their hunts were always successful, even if they didn’t fill their tags.

In his “retirement” years, Warren continued his love of military heritage and in 2016 produced a richly photographed book on Oregon military history with co-writer Alisha Hamel.

Warren’s Christian faith was also central to his being; he was involved in Presbyterian church leadership even in high school, continuing through his adult years with a commitment to equality, ecojustice and the church’s response to climate change.

Warren died at his home in Portland on May 20, 2023 from complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was preceded in death by Joyce in 2018 and by foster daughter Pam Chase. He is survived by children Bill Aney of Pendleton, Julie Deeds and John Aney of Portland; sister Colleen Staver of Bend, grandchildren Lindsay (Aney) Chiono, Robert (Street) Clark, Christina Street, Jordan Aney, Samantha Aney Prehn, Emaline Aney, Candace Chase, Carmel Chase; and great-grandchildren, Micah, Phoebe and Abigail Aney and Harrison and Henry Clark.

We will celebrate Dad’s life with a gathering at Southminster Presbyterian Church, 12550 SW Denney Road, Beaverton Oregon on Tuesday July 25 at 2:00pm.

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