Warren Lee Henrie was born on December 31, 1966. These are
his stories as told to his children January 1, 2017.
1.
The day each of his children were born, Warren cried
more than his wife Mary. When their first child Jessica was ready to be born,
Mary approached him and said, “I think my water broke.” She was all wet and
Warren replied, “I think you’re right.” They went to the hospital, where the
nurses began giving Warren paperwork and asking if he wanted an epidural. He
didn’t like the idea of an injection in Mary’s spine, so being new to
childbirth, he asked her, “Do we want an epidural?” She responded, “YES!”
While Mary
was pregnant with their second child Graigry the doctor put her on steroids
to help keep him from being born
too soon. The medicine made her sick and Warren
hated it. He was relieved when
Graig’s birth day arrived. He remembers that the doctor
who delivered Graig looked like
Elvis Presley, and Dr. Elvis told him Graig’s lungs were
underdeveloped and he might have to
go to the Intensive Care Unit. Warren gave Graig
his first priesthood blessing in
the hospital room, and they were able to bring him home.
On the day Tyler was born, Warren
was stressed because the doctor seemed to be
taking a long time to arrive in the
hospital room. March 6, 1997 was apparently a busy day
at American Fork Hospital. Luckily,
the nurse attending Mary was very good. Warren was
very impressed with her and felt
she should have signed the birth certificate instead of
the doctor.
Melanie was in a hurry to get to
Earth. Early in the morning on May 22, 2000, she slipped
right out for the doctor and nurses
at American Fork Hospital. Warren and Mary got to
take her home the next day, Mary’s
birthday.
2.
When Warren was growing up, his parents didn’t give him
an allowance. He earned his own spending money by working as a paperboy for the
Vale, Oregon newspaper.
3.
The first place Warren lived away from home was the
Provo MTC, where he studied Spanish in preparation for his mission in Bogota,
Colombia.
4.
Warren was happy in high school, but if he could go
back, he would take harder classes and date more.
5.
One of the things Warren loves most about his dad,
Gerald Farris Henrie, is how he never heard his dad swear. He also loved all
the animals Gerald was always bringing home from his job as a forest ranger.
6.
The best Christmas gift Warren ever received was a
metal Tonka fire truck. The truck ladder had three lengths, which was cool, but
the best part about it was it was tall enough to sit on. He and his brothers
had a great time riding it down the driveway.
The best
Christmas gift Warren ever gave was a trip certificate for every member of the
family to go to Disneyland. The
trip came right before Jessica and Graig left on their
missions.
7.
Warren has worked a lot of different jobs in his life,
including: paperboy, dairy man, farmhand, concrete worker, carpet cleaner, lawn
care professional, floor buffer, landscaper at BYU, telemarketer, warehouse
manager, branch manager at two different flooring businesses, marble countertop
installer, retail manager, installation manager, insurance salesman, assisted
living administrator, logistics manager and financial controller. Each job had
different pros and cons, but he felt most fulfilled working as an assisted
living administrator because he grew to love his employees and all the people
in his care.
8.
If presented with a choice between fishing by himself
or playing football with a big group, Warren would choose football. He loves
putting on pads and playing full-on tackle football.
9.
When Warren was a teenager, he had lots of friends who
were girls. He didn’t have a hard time talking to them, but got very nervous
whenever he tried to ask one of them out.
10. Warren
went through a hard time as a teenager when his father announced he was
quitting his job as a forest ranger and moving the family to Neola, Utah.
Warren had just finished his first year at Vale High School and he wanted to
stay as a Vale Viking. When the family moved to Neola, they didn’t have as much
money as before and many of his siblings had to give up music lessons and
instruments. In Neola, he was surrounded by cousins. He also met a group of
girls who brought him into their friend circle at Union High School. Things
started looking up after that.
11. Warren
will always remember Olga and Max Whitaker from Vale, Oregon. Olga was his Cub
Scout leader and Max was his Scout leader. Both of them impacted his life for
good when he was a kid.
12. Warren’s
favorite thing to do on weekends was be involved in clubs. He was very involved
in sports and other groups at Union High School.
13. One
of Warren’s best friends growing up was Chris Whitaker, the son of Olga and Max
Whitaker. After he moved to Neola, a group of girls became his best friends. He
has always had tons of friends, even from elementary and junior high schools.
14. Warren’s
first car was a Chevrolet Greenbrier station wagon. His mother Coralie was his
main driving teacher, but his dad also taught him a little.
15. Warren
always knew he wanted to go to college, go on a mission, and get married. The
career choice was more of a surprise. He double majored in Russian and
international relations, with a plan to go into international law and work at
the embassy. But just as he was getting ready to graduate, the USSR broke up
and changed all his plans. He was told it was too dangerous for him to bring
his family to Russia, and ultimately family was more important to him than working
at the embassy. He found his first full-time job in sales, and for the most
part stayed in that industry.
16. The
first time Warren found out he was going to be a dad, he and Mary had been
married a year and a half. He didn’t even know she had bought pregnancy tests
until she said, “Um, look at this.” He was ecstatic but also very nervous, and
he went to talk with the bishop. The bishop read him D&C 4:3, “Therefore,
if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work,” and told Warren he
had been called to the work of being a father. Warren felt a little better
after that.
17. One
attribute Warren appreciates most about his parents Gerald and Coralie is their
work ethic.
18. One
of the most surprising things Warren enjoys about being a father is watching his
children use new skills.
19. Some
of Warren’s favorite family holiday traditions are: celebrating ancestor
birthdays, having a fancy dinner on Valentine’s Day, celebrating Easter week,
celebrating his wedding anniversary in June, setting off fireworks in July,
making costumes for Halloween, eating food and being with family on
Thanksgiving, acting out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve, and burning the
Christmas tree on New Year’s Eve.
20. Taco
salad reminds Warren of his wife Mary, because they ate a lot of it when they
were newly married.
21. One
of Warren’s favorite memories from when he was a teenager was winning the 6th
grade football game 34-0. He was #34. He’s also proud of winning third place in
the long jump at a regional track and field meet.
22. Warren
and Mary didn’t make a final decision on the names of any of their children
until the day they were born. Each time, they did a lot of research on names
and picked out a few they liked, and then when the child was born one of the
names felt right.
“Jessica”
was a name they both liked, and it helped that Jessica was a character from
“The Man From Snowy River.” They
chose her middle name, Marie, because it was a
variation of “Mary.”
Graigry was almost named Benjamin,
but then Mary’s cousin named her baby that. They
decided to name him after Mary’s
uncle Graig instead. They also gave him the middle
name Warren after his father.
Tyler might have been named Peter,
but Warren and Mary decided they liked “Tyler”
better. They knew they wanted to
start naming children after their parents, so Tyler
became Tyler Gerald.
If Melanie had been a boy, her
middle name would have been Wayne. But because she
was a girl, she got “Genan”
instead. For her first name, Warren and Mary considered
“Melody” but ultimately decided
they preferred “Melanie.”
23. Warren
considers his hometown Vale, Oregon. His favorite thing about it was the wide,
open spaces. He could see the stars at night, and there was plenty of fishing
and hunting.
24. One
time, Warren got really sick and had to go to the hospital. It was his first
kidney stone, and he was in so much pain he couldn’t walk. Randy Clark, the
next-door neighbor, had to carry him to the car so Mary could take him to the
emergency room.
25. As
a kid, Warren collected Hot Wheels, matchbox cars, Legos, stamps, coins, rocks,
yearbooks, newspapers and animals.
26. The
first concert Warren went to was for “The Tools” in Salt Lake City. They were a
rock band, and one of his brothers won free tickets. They drove all the way
from Neola for the concert, and at the very beginning, smoke poured out as the
band came on stage and hovered in the section where they were sitting. Warren
and his brother finally left early.
A few years
later, Warren bought tickets to see Chicago. They cost about twenty bucks.
27. If
Warren could retire tomorrow, he would travel internationally and teach
business.
28. Warren’s
top five best memories are the day he got married and the birth days of each of
his children.
29. Be
believing in a Heavenly Father as God. Have joy. Be willing to act when you
pray to Him. Be open to His answers in His chosen way. Record His personal
revelation and answers to you for your sake and that of your God-given sphere
of influence.
Be loving,
kind and respectfully bold with your spirit siblings. Be passionate about your
spirit family in their needs and
wants. Learn from others and choose wisely. Stand for
right.
Understand your call to take part
in Christ’s vicarious works.
30. Warren’s
favorite thing about being a husband is enjoying the progression of his
relationship with Mary.
