James Charles Warren

James (Jim) Charles Warren passed away peacefully at his home in Fairfax, Virginia on January 12, 2026, after a two-year battle with cancer at the age of 80.

Jim was one-of-a-kind, someone you had to meet in person to fully understand. His opinions were facts – there was no better place to be from than Iowa and no better basketball player than Caitlin Clark. He read the newspaper cover to cover every day, was always excited about the newest technology, and was even more excited to shop for it. He was exceptionally kind and generous, dedicating his time and attention to his family. He was unwaveringly confident and held an optimistic outlook about the world, himself, and those around him.

Jim was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on July 28, 1945, to Cline and Helen Warren. He was one of four boys – two older brothers, Lon and Tommy, and an identical twin, Jack. He was very proud of his Iowa roots. Growing up tied to the hip with Jack and alongside many neighborhood friends his age, his childhood was spent outside in the fresh Midwest air, where he excelled at all sports, especially baseball.

He was an undersized but speedy outfielder and then he was a pitcher, idolizing Dodger legend Sandy Koufax and learning to pitch sidearm to imitate Don Drysdale. He would often say no one could throw a baseball harder than he could, and he truly believed it. In 1963 as a senior at George Washington High School he led his baseball team to an 18-0 start, falling just short of the high school state title, but winning the American Legion state championship months later.

Jim played baseball for two years at the University of Iowa. An arm injury shifted his focus fully to academics, where he earned his undergraduate degree in business and accounting in 1967.

That summer Jim, like thousands of young American men at that time, was drafted by the U.S. Army to serve in Vietnam. Initially assigned to be a helicopter mechanic, he smartly convinced an officer to transfer him to the Finance Department. This saved him from repeated tours in the field, and instead he was able to spend most of his time at the Bien Hoa and Long Binh base camps working closely alongside friendly Vietnamese military staff.

After two years of military service, Jim returned to the University of Iowa for a Master of Arts in Finance and International Business, graduating in 1971. Excited to be done with school and to reunite with his brother, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii.

It was in Hawaii Jim would meet his wife, Janet. They enjoyed their time together on the Honolulu beaches and at a memorable date to an Elvis concert before they relocated to Denver and were married in 1981.

Jim and Jan had two sons, Justin and Shane, and when they arrived Jim dedicated every part of himself to being a father. He coached every sport, and no one threw better batting practice. If you ran into Jim, he would enthusiastically tell you about his sons’ latest games, whether for a state title or local adult-league flag football. He’d then be sure to update you on the latest ranking of their high school, no matter the fact they graduated more than twenty years ago. He was genuinely proud, without pretention.

Every year Jim made sure the family could spend the summer in Hawaii. He would stay only a week and return home to work, but he knew how important it was for his wife and boys to spend as much quality time as possible with all the family on the big island.

From Hawaii to Denver to Northern Virginia, Jim held many finance and accounting jobs. He spent ten years at Western Nuclear, another ten at HOH Associates, a small private landscaping firm, and finished his career working 18 years for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

But by the end of his career work was just work – his family, now grandchildren most of all, remained his true passion. After retirement, Jim would be in his chair right behind the backstop fence at his grandsons’ baseball games or in the front row of the school theater, camera unabashedly out, recording his granddaughters’ performances. Dark chocolate was breakfast and chocolate ice cream was the reason to finish dinner – he was shocked each time a grandchild chose vanilla. Over the last several years, the walls at grandma and grandpa’s house were slowly hidden behind countless custom pictures of the family. The basement transformed into a full-blown game room – ping-pong, pool, air hockey, darts, and an arcade console. The backyard was of course one-half basketball court and one-half wiffle ball field. Jim’s sons now were the ones throwing wiffle balls to their kids – with great skill of course, but not quite as hard as Jim.

A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at Congressional Country Club (8500 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817) on Friday, April 10, 2026 at 11am. The family invites all who would like to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Jim’s memory to the Hawkeye Scholarship Fund, supporting University of Iowa Hawkeye student-athletes https://hawkeyesports.evenue.net/give/SCH.

Jim is survived by his wife Janet, his sons Justin (Amanda) and Shane (Elizabeth), six grandchildren (Eleanor, Brandon, Cole, Kaia, Aubrey, and Hazel), his twin brother Jack (Clara), and many more loving family and friends.