Warren A Henke

Warren A. Henke died peacefully on March 17, 2014, at St. Alexius Medical Center, in Bismarck. A memorial service for Warren will be held on Saturday, March 22, at 11:00 a.m. at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, ND, 58503. Interment will be held at 2:00 pm Friday, March 21, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Warren was born on September 16, 1926, in New Salem, North Dakota, to Arthur D. and Margaret Bauer Henke. Warren's parents had farmed for a while, but two years before Warren's birth they moved to New Salem, where Warren's father worked for Blank Motor Sales. The family also included Warren's older brother, Dallas. After graduating from New Salem High School in 1944, Warren went west to join the war industry efforts, and he worked for Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles. He was drafted into the U.S Army and entered into service at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on January 10, 1945. Warren trained as a rifleman, then received further instruction in tank and infantry tactics in Maryland. The war in Europe ended, and Warren was sent to Hawaii where he received training in beach landings. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan and the speedy resolution of the war saved Warren from needing to use this training. Warren was honorably discharged from the army as a corporal at Ft. Lewis, Washington, on August 26, 1946. After World War II, Warren returned to North Dakota and worked briefly as a scalemaster at the Flemmer Coal Mine north of New Salem. He pursued his university education at the University of North Dakota, and then transferred to Valparaiso University in Indiana, where he graduated in 1951 with a B.A. in Geography and Business Administration. Warren taught high school in Beulah, North Dakota, from 1951 to 1955, and then achieved his master's degree in Social Studies/History from Colorado State College in 1955. Warren taught at the Junior High School in Bismarck from 1956 to 1961. In Bismarck, he met Rose Marie Fiechtner, a young woman who had started on her long-time career as a Grade 4 teacher at Wachter Elementary School. Rose Marie and Warren were married on July 7, 1963, at Zion Lutheran Church in Rose Marie's hometown of Edgeley, North Dakota. With Rose Marie's loving support, Warren pursued a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on a pivotal time period in North Dakota history. This work, "Government and Business: Economic Growth in North Dakota, 1890-1933," was completed under the supervision of the well-known historian of the American West, Gerald D. Nash. Warren was awarded several distinguished grants as a doctoral student: the Coe Fellowship in American Studies 1960 and the Wymyss Foundation Scholarship in American Studies 1965. Warren received his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico in 1970. By that time, he had already launched his career as a Professor of History at Bismarck State Community College Bismarck Junior College, where he taught American history to many college students from 1962 to 1989. In a ceremony in 2010, Warren was designated Professor Emeritus. Warren had many professional honors. He served his chosen field of history in many ways, particularly in relation to the history of North Dakota. He served on the North Dakota Historic Sites Review Commission from 1970 to 1978. He served on the North Dakota Humanities Council's committee from 1973 to 1981. He was chairman of that committee in 1976, and he was recognized as the humanities council's "Committee Man of the Year" in 1980. He was the past president of the North Dakota Social Science Association 1972 and the Association of North Dakota Historians 1981. Warren leaves an important legacy in the books he published about North Dakota. He is the author of Prairie Politics: Parties and Platforms in North Dakota, 1889-1914 1974. He edited the two very popular books: Our Towns: North Dakota Communities—Our Story 1992, with Rose Marie Henke and The Legacy of North Dakota's Country Schools 1998, with Everett Albers. He contributed to Plains Folk: North Dakota's Ethnic History 1986, he was a consultant for the volume on North Dakota in the America the Beautiful series for grade school children, and he authored many other articles, book chapters, book reviews, and conference papers throughout his long academic career. Through these works and through his many years of committee service, he contributed greatly to our understanding of the state of North Dakota. Rose Marie and Warren celebrated fifty years of marriage this past July 2013. Warren was a historian of North Dakota, a teacher, and above all, the steadiest of friends. His values will continue to shape the lives of his friends, particularly the younger generation. We were blessed to have had him in our lives, and we will cherish his friendship forever. He is survived by his wife, Rose Marie; by his nephew, Dr. David Henke Liz of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his niece, Jill Phil Pacini, of Hobe Sound, Florida; and several great-nieces and great-nephews. Warren was preceded in death by his parents; his brother and sister-in-law, Dallas and Beverly Henke; and his niece, Gayle Williams. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to a charity of the donor's choosing.

Warren A Henke

September 16, 1926 - March 17, 2014