Joe Ernest Warner went home to be with Jesus October 4, 2026. He was born January 1, 1934 in Mankato, Kansas to Tom Warner and Sarah Rypma-Warner, the fourth of six children, and was the first new year baby in Jewell County. Joe passed away on October 4, 2026 at Clyde W. Cosper Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, TX. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Wise Funeral Home, Bonham, TX. 

He attended elementary and middle school and worked at the Mankato movie theater during high school, but left home to pursue miscellaneous jobs including traveling harvest crews. On one crew he worked for Charlie Wampler and met his future wife, Darlene Wampler. Joe and Darlene were united in marriage at the First Christian Church in Glasco, Kansas in 1955, and lived in Glasco for several years. Joe completed his GED and joined the U.S. Army in 1957 doing basic training at Fort Sill Oklahoma, and then was deployed to Europe where he spent 28 days at Omaha Beach before being transferred to Aschaffenburg Germany. Darlene joined him there for a year, and Elvis served at the same time only 1 mile away. As a surveyor in the 26th Artillery Regiment, he was trained to set coordinates for the Army’s Honest John artillery rockets. He earned a good conduct medal and the rifle marksman medal, was discharged to reserve duty at Fort Sheridan Illinois, then honorably discharged in 1963.

Back in Glasco near much of his family, Joe delivered propane gas, operated Warner Heating and Cooling repair shop, and worked at Trailcraft Canoes shop building mail-order wooden and canvas boats. Children Randy and Rhonda were born in 1963 and 1965. He enjoyed mid- Kansas pheasant and quail hunting. In 1968 he moved the family to Melvern, Kansas, taking a job as a surveyor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Melvern Lake, where he laid out property boundaries, roads, and recreation areas. After the lake was finished and dedicated in 1975, he continued surveying at all the Kansas City District lakes and at Fort Riley Military base, coming home on weekends. In Melvern, Joe was a volunteer fire fighter, served on the city council, and after retirement from the Corps of Engineers, served multiple terms as the Melvern Mayor. He was a faithful member of the Melvern Church of God where he served on the church board and helped on church maintenance and improvement projects. After fifty-two years in Melvern, in 2020 Joe and Darlene pulled up roots and moved to a senior apartment community in McKinney, Texas. In February 2026 he entered the Texas State Veterans Home memory care unit in Bonham, Texas where he received exceptional nursing care throughout that final chapter of his long, productive life.

Joe is preceded in death by his brothers and sisters Ernest Warner, Juanita McClellan, Norma Jean Sprague, Darlene Burgess, and Johnny Warner. He is survived by his wife Darlene of McKinney, Texas, son Randy (Susan) of Spring Hill, Kansas, and daughter Rhonda Enneking (Brian) of McKinney, Texas. He was blessed with eight nephews and nieces and their families. He has five grandchildren - Nathanial (Madeline), Andrew (Katlin), Nicole (Jake), Krista (Garrett), and Ethan (Alexia) and seven great-grandchildren - Oliver, Jack, Gemma, Jude, Eleanor, Henry, and Noah.

A memorial service is planned for Thanksgiving weekend in Lyndon, Kansas followed by interment with military honors at the Glasco cemetery, Glasco, Kansas. The family suggests memorial gifts to the Clyde W. Cosper Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, Texas. Gifts scan be sent to Rhonda Enneking, 8305 Forsythia Drive, McKinney, Texas 75072. Please leave online condolences at www.wisefuneralhome.com.