Dr. Glen Curtiss Warren

Jackson - Dr. Glen Curtiss Warren, aged 94, died on December 18, 2025 at River Oaks Hospital in Jackson, a hospital that he co-founded. Glen was born on November 2, 1931 in D'Lo, Mississippi to Amanda Warren and Leonard Warren during the Great Depression. His father was fascinated with airplanes so he named his son after Glenn Curtiss, the aviation pioneer, and dropped one of the 'n's'. Glen's humble early years were spent working hard on his family's small farm during World War II, while many of the men were away in the military. Glen was raised around D'Lo and Prentiss, Mississippi, then his family moved to Purvis, Mississippi when he was a sophomore in high school. He graduated from Purvis High School where he played football and was President of his senior class. Glen joined the National Guard at age 16, after representing that he was 17, and began a long association with the military.

After working part-time stocking shelves and sweeping floors in the local drugstore during high school, Glen decided to enroll in Pharmacy School at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) where he graduated in 1953. He was the first in his family to attend college. He loved his years at Ole Miss where he had regular encounters with the renowned author William Faulkner around the Oxford Square. Glen went through the ROTC program at Ole Miss so he was commissioned as a lieutenant when he graduated from pharmacy school. Glen married his high school girlfriend, Mildred Jane Black, in March of 1954. Shortly thereafter, now Lieutenant Warren went on active duty and was deployed to Anderson Air Force Base in Guam where he served as a medical supply and pharmacy officer for two years. His tour of duty took him to Japan on multiple occasions and as well as the infamous WWII islands of Iwo Jima, Tinian and Okinawa. Lt. Warren also traveled to India, Thailand and Vietnam during this time.

Lt. Warren entered medical school at the University of Mississippi in 1957 and continued to work as a pharmacist to make ends meet. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, a national honorary academic fraternity for the very top medical students, and graduated from medical school with 53 classmates in 1961.

Dr. Warren reentered the Air Force and moved his young family to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas where he served his medical internship. Dr. Warren then went through the School of Aerospace Medicine at Lackland and became a flight surgeon. Along the way he met a number of astronauts and test pilots including John Glenn and Chuck Yeager. From Lackland he was transferred to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida where he often flew with pilots in F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. He served at MacDill during the extremely tense Cuban Missile Crisis and later met President John F. Kennedy when he was on base for an aviation anniversary.

Dr. Warren became interested in neurosurgery during his internship so he entered the rigorous five year neurosurgery residency program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1964, while remaining an officer in the Air Force. Upon finishing his neurosurgery residency in Jackson in early 1969, Dr. Warren was transferred to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. His medical experience accelerated as he dealt with hundreds of casualties from the Vietnam War at Clark Air Base Hospital and flew on numerous Airevac missions into Cam Ranh Bay Air Base in Vietnam to retrieve ambulatory patients. Dr. Warren also served as one of the commanding officers of a mobile surgical hospital where field surgery was performed on patients, sometimes under fire or without power. Later he often told his surgical team members that he believed that his calmness in the operating room during long surgery days was a result of his military experience.

After two years in the Philippines, Dr. Warren and his family, then a Lt. Colonel, were transferred to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Air Force sent the family back to the States by commercial ocean liner where Dr. Warren, by chance, got to know a fellow passenger, Tennessee Williams, the famous playwright who was born in Mississippi. In 1972 Dr. Warren resigned from the Air Force after 17 years and joined the neurosurgery faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center where he handled all of the pediatric neurosurgery and trained neurosurgery residents. He was voted as the most impactful faculty member by 4th year medical students which was one of his most coveted acknowledgements. After a few years on the Medical Center faculty, Dr. Warren began to take on private patients and eventually decided to go into private practice where he saw patients and performed neurosurgery on hundreds of patients. He retired from neurosurgery in 2004 after over 25 years in private practice. Dr. Warren continued to do medical consulting work until just a few years ago.

"D-Daddy" as he is affectionately known by his family, is survived by his wife Gayle, his children Glen Curtiss Warren Jr. (Tami) of Manchester, Massachusetts, Mitzi Oates (Billy) of Franklin, Tennessee and Brenda Reece of Atlanta, Georgia. His grandchildren are Amanda Oates Williamson (Jack) of Nashville, Tennessee, Sarah Lane Oates (Allison) and Taylor Oates both of San Diego, California, Warren Reece (Anna) of Atlanta, Georgia, Hudson Warren of Ocala, Florida and Luella Bing Warren of Boston, Massachusetts. His great great grandchildren are Thatcher Williamson and Lucia Williamson of Nashville. Dr. Warren is also survived by his younger brother Gerald Warren (Pattye) of Gulfport, Mississippi.

During his long medical career, Dr. Warren was known for his humor, calm demeanor and command of the surgical suite. His motto was always "press on". But mostly he was known for his care and compassion for the many hundreds of patients that he took care of over four decades. Dr. Warren felt that he was so blessed to have worked with so many wonderful medical professionals over the years. He always felt that everyone deserves to be acknowledged and appreciated.

Dr. Warren and his wife Gayle were involved in thoroughbred racing for several decades. They loved their thoroughbred horses and going to the races in New Orleans. He particularly enjoyed reading WWII history, Ole Miss sports and spending time at the beach with friends and family. Dr. Warren was also a pilot and enjoyed flying his Cherokee Six to various destinations around the South. He always cherished time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. A special thank you from Dr. Warren and his family to Sandra Davis, and her mother Joyce before her, who cared for Dr. Warren and his family for well over 40 years. Also the family wants to give a big thank you to Dr. Warren's caregivers over the past year and a half.

A service will be held at 10:00 am on December 22, 2025 at Cathedral of Saint Peter The Apostle in Jackson, Mississippi followed by a brief graveside service at Parkway Memorial Park in Ridgeland and a celebration of his life at his home. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that memorial donations be made either to the Nichols Spinal Injury Foundation, the Retired Racehorse Project or the Mississippi Animal Rescue League.