Warren RESSEL

1947 - 2017

RESSEL, Warren In the early morning hours of October 5, 2017 Warren was called to be with the Lord, with his loving wife of 49 years, Betty, at his side. He had suffered a heart attack the evening before and was unable to recover, despite commendable efforts by St. David's medical staff. Warren was tenacious, stubborn, kind-hearted, tormented, gentle, deeply spiritual, funny and a great friend to all he met. He was born in San Antonio, Texas on October 7, 1947 to Ruby and Walter Ressel. He attended St. Paul Lutheran through grade school and graduated high school from Concordia Lutheran, Austin. Concordia is where he met many lifetime friends and found a lifetime home in Austin. Concordia was also where he met Betty and it was love at first sight, they say. Betty was decorating her dorm room and needed a hammer. "Hey Big Boy, have a hammer?" They were married two years later. Warren attended school and then began working for the Welfare Department (later known as the Department of Human Services) working his way up from a Computer Analyst to the Director of Network Research and Planning and ultimately Information Systems Architect for Texas Health and Human Services Commission over all of the HHSC agencies. He retired in 2001 after 30 years of state service, and began consulting with the state on major moves. A friend and former boss said "Warren was a key member of the team that moved the Department into the technology age. His unique genius was taking a vision or concept and figuring out how to make that vision a reality." Warren enjoyed many things in his life including his family and friends, helping the church, and hunting. He and Betty were charter members at Our Savior Lutheran when it began in 1974 and have been active and essential members for the last 43 years, serving as congregation chair many times and most recently as Elder. For the last 30+ years, Warren also enjoyed his Deer Lease in Zephyr He was the "lease leader", managing relations with land owners, game wardens, and other hunters. He loved making the lease a fun place for family and friends and always liked a good sing-a-long by the camp fire. The kids all learned to drive there, while the wives literally gave up trying to clean the place up. What happens at the deer lease stays at the deer lease, and the rules just don't apply. For some 18 years the family also caravanned with good friends to ski resorts where many memories were made. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, and brother, Darwin Ressel. He is survived by his wife, Betty; and three children, Sarah Ressel (grandchildren Emily Halliburton, Elliott Soliz and Ethan Soliz), Rachael (Ressel) and Shane Hill (grandchildren Shane II and Addison) and Michael and Amy Ressel (grandchild Julia). Honorary pallbearers include Tommy Huntress, John Fricke and Ronnie Biediger, as well as the many hunting buddies that have been part of Warren's deer lease family over the years. Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, October 9th at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1513 E Yager Lane, Austin, Texas 78753. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be appreciated to one of the following organizations: Our Savior Lutheran Youth (https://www.oslaustin.org/) Concordia High School (http://chsaustin.org/) Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Texas (http://www.lomt.com/) CT Foundation for Christian Education (http://ctfce.org/) To share condolences with the family, please visit www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com.