Warren J. Kimmel 95 of Horsham passed away on Monday March 16, 2020.
Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of the late Allen B. and Elizabeth Kimmel.
As a young boy, he raised homing pigeons. He also built Balsa wood airplanes which peaked his interest in aviation.
Warren graduated June 1942 from Murrell Dobbins Vo-Tech School. He was a trained and skilled patternmaker. Months later, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. In June 1943, he began service in the China Burma and India (CBI) Theatre of operations. Assigned to the Air Transport Command (ATC), he spent the next 27 months as a flying crew and ground chief for a C- 47. He was discharged in November 1945 with the rank of Staff Sargent.
The young lady he met in New York before going overseas became the love of his life. He and Kathleen were married December 8, 1945. They enjoyed 59 years of marriage until her death in 2004.
Beginning in 1955, Warren and his family became lifelong residents of Horsham, Pa. He helped with organizing the Horsham Little League and coached for many years.
Warren worked as a Patternmaker for Pennwalt, after returning home from the service. Later he was a Model maker for HMS Associates located in Willow Grove. Then he returned to being a Patternmaker for Philadelphia Gear and Boeing Vertol which he retired from in 1991.
He was also a skilled carpenter. His major hobby which he began in 1946 was HO Trains. He was proud that his layout was featured in Model Railroader magazine in 1955. His 1967 Dodge Polara 500 convertible, bought in 1969, was seen at Hatboro's Moonlight Memories car show for many years.
He loved gardening and traveling with Kathleen after retirement. He was the past Commander of the CBI veterans group for the Southeastern Pa area. Later he became an active member of VFW Post 175 in Doylestown. He spent many years providing a living history of his WWII experiences to many schools, clubs and libraries in the area.
VFW Post 175 provided Warren and another WWII veteran with a trip to Normandy, France to tour the D-Day invasion sites, an experience he truly cherished.
Preceding Warren in death was his younger brother Allen (2019). Warren is survived by his four sons: Brian, Warren (Carol), Scott (Cindy) and Christopher, 6 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Also, his faithful 3 legged companion Charlie.
There will be a private viewing for immediate family only at Kirk & Nice Suburban Chapel, 333 W. County Line Rd., Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.
For Friends, there will be an Interment Service on Monday March 23rd at 1:00 PM at Hillside Cemetery 2556 Susquehanna Rd., Roslyn, Pa.
In Lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made in Warren's name to Disabled American Veterans (www.dav.org) or Horsham Fire Company No. 1, 315 Meeting House Rd., Horsham, Pa. 19044.