CELEBRATING WILLIAM 

William Kenneth Warren was born to the late Rebecca E. Warren and John W. Kates in
Northampton County , Virginia on September 16, 1934. He was the first born of six children. After a
brief illness this month, William departed this life, at the age of 85, in the early morning hours of
Saturday, November 16, 2019.

William was educated in the Northampton County School system. As a youth, he loved to play
baseball and was known to be quite good at it. As William matured into a young man, pool became one
is his favorite hobbies. To his friends, he was a straight shooter when it came to telling it like he saw it,
but also a bit of an instigator and a joker.

It was apparent early in his life, that Blue was a family-oriented man, a giver and a provider.
While his siblings continued their education, Blue started working and helped his mother provide for his
sisters and brother. Due to this role, Blue was respected by his siblings and seen as a “father-figure.”This willingness to provide and help would be a continuous theme throughout his life. No matter who
became a part of his family unit, he was determined to show them that they were welcome and loved.
There was never anything too great for him when it came to family. If his family needed it, Blue was
going to get it.

One of the first jobs held by Boy Blue was at the local sawmill in Nassawadox. However, Blue
would not settle. He was a smart man, always learning and willing to do better. Blue’s next position
was farming with Ben Kellam. Over the years, he studied and sharpened his farming skills until he
began his own farming operation where he cultivated soybeans, greens, peas and corn.

Boy Blue was well known for his final occupation on the Eastern Shore. For the next forty-plus
years, Blue began and continued his long-standing career as a trucker-driver. Boy Blue served as a
trucker for a variety of employers including James Ames, the West brothers, Tommy Robbin and finally
David Long. Although he worked for many, at one-point Blue became an entrepreneur. During this part
of his life, Boy Blue started Warren Trucking. He could be found driving one of his trucks that was
inscribed on the doors with his signature nickname “Boy Blue”. He truly loved trucking. Even into his
latter days at the nursing home, he could be found talking about trucking and taking up a load.

Blue was a remarkable man. He wasn’t’ just known as the trucker, but he also embodied
kindness, generosity, patience and a loving spirit. One of his long-time friends stated that he inspired
and/or taught many of the men who became truckers in Northampton County. For Blue, the word “NO”
was not a part of his vocabulary. If he could help, whether friend, family member or stranger, Blue would
do it. To the amazement of his wife, at times, that literally meant giving a stranger the shirt off of his
back. Also, Blue would often give his time and advice to young men. He enjoyed talking to them about
“doing what was right” and being “the better man.”

Our beloved William “Boy Blue” Warren was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Jacqueline
Warren, and his three farming and trucking buddies, Roger Jones, George T. Map, and Alwin “Fat
Albert” Matthews. Left to cherish his memory is his loving, devoted wife and companion of forty-seven
years, Shelia Warren; his loving children: Kenneth(Eva Mae) Warren, Wanda (Albert) Capers, Milton
(Meenae) Warren, George (Cheryl) Warren, Rhonda Spady, Carlos Spady, Aleishia (Samuel) Goodwyn,
and Rhonda” Ashley” Spady; his siblings: Bertha Townsend, Ellen (Theodore) Bailey, Amosteen Warren,
and Lawrence Warren; eighteen grandchildren, twenty-four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces,
nephews, cousins and friends.