DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997                 TAG: 9704040604

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: EDMOND, OKLA.                     LENGTH:   52 lines

LEWIS C. WARREN

Lewis Clifton Warren passed away peacefully in his sleep at the home of his son on April 1, 1997, in Oklahoma.

Born in Portsmouth on Sept. 14, 1905, Lewis was from one of Virginia's oldest families, which arrived here from Massachusetts in 1652 when Thomas Warren came to work on the home of Thomas Rolfe, son of Pocahontas and John Rolfe in Surry County, later known as the Rolfe-Warren house. This is the same family that produced Joseph Warren, one of the authors of the ``Suffolk Resolves'' and hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War.

By 1754 family members had settled in Norfolk County to engage in the ship building activities. The Portsmouth Public Library holds the service papers signed by Gen. Robert E. Lee for Carey Warren, who ran away from home to join the Confederate Army and who later penned the history of Grimes Battery, Portsmouth's outstanding unit dedicated to the defense of the South.

Subsequent generations served the city and county as midwives, nurses, firemen, policemen, transportation directors and civic leaders. Clifton Earl Warren, father of Lewis, assisted the City of Portsmouth many years as a councilman and was a supervisor for the Seaboard Airline Railway. Lenora Calvert, mother of Lewis, nurtured a large family, which included his brother, Clarence, former group master of the Machine Shop at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, who predeceased Lewis and his remaining brother, Calvert, former chief of police, and sisters, Annie Shand, Virginia Jones and Lenora Warren.

Lewis served on the Portsmouth Police Force for 33 years, rising from policeman on a beat to chief of police, a post he held for nearly 10 years. An innovative chief, he was among the first in the nation to utilize school traffic guards and among the first to have a racially integrated police force. A popular and caring man, he coached American Legion boys baseball, as well as Elks and Moose adult softball teams toward championships. He aided the Khedive Temple Shrine on its committee for the children's hospitals and was a longtime Mason at America Lodge.

He was named Sportsman of the Year and First Citizen of Portsmouth, and 10 years ago was honored with ``Lew Warren Day'' at the University of Richmond, where as a scout, he helped many young men receive athletic scholarships.

His wife, Margaret, predeceased him by 10 days, and his only daughter, Bettie Lew, was killed in a car accident in June. He is survived by his son, Dr. Clifton Lanier Warren of Edmond; four grandchildren, Shawna Cleary-Doering of Edmond, Carey L. Warren of Los Angeles, Lewis Hudgens of Mobile, Ala., attorney Margaret Hudgens Ferguson of Grenada, Miss.; a great-grandchild, Conner Cleary; and numerous nephews and nieces.

A funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday in Pinecrest Baptist Church by the Revs. Tom Potter and Damon Wyatt. Visitation will be at Sturtevant Funeral Home, Portsmouth Blvd. Chapel, from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY

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