Max’s Obituary Max William Waring completed 95 years of rich life on Monday, May 6, 2019, when he passed from this world in San Antonio, TX, his home for the last 15 years. Max was born on January 26, 1924, to Frieda and Alvin Waring in Strawberry Point, Iowa. He grew up on a dairy farm in the cornfields of Iowa where he enjoyed hunting and his mother’s cooking, especially cinnamon rolls.
He excelled at school and displayed a scholarly bent and, with the support of his Grandmother Waring, was able to enter college. When 19, he was offered a “cruise” to distant lands by Uncle Sam and spent his time during World War II in India and China as a weatherman, and maintained this interest throughout his life. He returned to St. Louis, MO, after the war and married Kell Nadine Brown of Troy, MO, whom he had met before shipping overseas.
He entered St. Louis University to complete his education in accounting (graduating at the top of his class) and obtained his CPA soon after graduating. Max and Kell had three children, Linda, Patricia, and Randall, who were raised in Florissant, MO, with much love and in combination with the families of June (sister of Kell) and Calvin Edwards and Deanna and Eugene (brother of Kell) Brown. Family picnics, barbecues, and holiday celebrations, as well as many trips to Troy to fish and visit the dear families of Kell‘s other siblings were the order of the day.
Max worked for Boeing Corporation as an auditor for over 20 years, under its various company affiliations, until he retired in 1990. (He maintained his interest in financial matters throughout his life, reading the Wall Street Journal daily and comparing stock market gains and losses with Randy in 5:00 PM phone calls. ) He cared for Kell when her health faltered in her later years and when she died in 2004, courageously bought a house and moved to San Antonio where Linda and Pat lived with their families.
Here he started life anew with frequent visits from Randy and his wife, Luanne. Max loved his family dearly and spent 15 years as the family patriarch and the center of most activities and celebrations. He was greatly admired and appreciated by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren alike.
Max was an amazing mentor for us all and we frequently sought his advice. He worked hard at everything he ever undertook and always had the family’s best interests at heart. He lived with intractable back pain throughout most of his adult years; he never let the pain interfere with his life and lived it to the fullest.
He was a child of the depression and valued recycling and fixing all repairable items long before it became fashionable. (Almost anything can be fixed with duct tape, we learned, and no pencil stub should be discarded. ) He was also a man of the current world and embraced new technology (computers and iPads) and news reports with a gusto seldom seen in people his age.
He delighted in figuring out how things worked and had a love affair with cars, especially his 1952 Plymouth. Max could never turn down a good game of cards, and approached Rook and Pinochle with a competitive spirit that inspired such sayings as “Hotter than a June bride on a feather bed” and some that are not printable here. He loved food and became an accomplished chef of what can only be called home-cooking.
His specialty was Bacon Milk Gravy and he also made a mean chili, a superb peanut brittle, and when he had to give up barbecuing, supervised the activity of his sons-in-laws with great enthusiasm and a critical eye. He was a quiet, strong force in the upbringing of his family and taught us to work hard and value the important things, family above all else. We will miss him dearly.
Max is survived by his three children, Linda (and husband, David) Johnson and Pat (and husband, Ronald) Ellis who reside in San Antonio, TX, and Randy (and wife, Luanne) who reside in O’Fallon, MO. Grandchildren include Nathan (and wife, Rebecca) Johnson (Phoenix, AZ), Aaron (and wife, Kristin) Johnson (Cedar Park, TX), Jordan (and husband, Frank) Engel (San Antonio, TX), and Paige Ellis (Austin, TX). An unofficially “adopted” granddaughter, Deborah Stedman, lives in Houston, TX.
Great-grandchildren include Celeste and Kaden (Max) Johnson, Wesley and Everett Johnson, and Rebekah and Benjamin Engel. Max is also survived by brother James (and wife, Fran) Waring (Waterloo, IA), sister Helen Raders (Denver, CO), and many beloved nieces and nephews. Max will be interred in a private family ceremony at Troy Cemetery on Tuesday, May 14, 2019.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a favorite organization that Max admired and supported.
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