Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Warwick worked in district for 32 years
Jay Warwick, a longtime maintenance employee in the Reardan-Edwall School District, passed away in his sleep Saturday, Sept. 25.
REARDAN-The Reardan-Edwall School District woke up Sunday morning to the news of the sudden passing of Jay Warwick, a longtime district employee who died in his sleep at the age of 61 Saturday, Sept. 25.
Warwick had worked in the district since May 8, 1989 and was in his 33rd school year. Upon his passing, he was a maintenance mechanic.
"This was a total shock that came out of the blue," superintendent Eric Sobotta said. "He was well-loved by a lot of people and was often the first person you saw upon arriving to work each day."
Facilities supervisor Jim Porter remembered Warwick as a jack-of-all-trades who could complete any task required of him.
"It was unbelievable how much work he would get done," Porter said. "He did all these little things people didn't know he did...he was an electrician, a plumber, a handyman, an IT expert. He did everything and knew where everything was on campus."
Warwick's first priority, however, was his family. He leaves behind his wife, Kim, his mother, Betty, his daughter, Melissa, two brothers, two sisters and three grandchildren.
"Jay was a family man first. That was always first on his mind," Porter said. "He would meet his grandkids at the bus stop every morning when they were dropped off and he took them home so they didn't have to ride the bus home."
Sobotta said Warwick would often arrive at school at 4 a.m. to begin preparing the grounds, despite the fact that his shift didn't start until 5 a.m.
"He was just getting the school district ready for everyone," Sobotta said.
"His philosophy was to be make the school as good-looking for the kids as possible, because he didn't know whether they had a good situation at home or not," Porter added. "But he knew he could create a good environment for them at school."
Warwick would also help out in a pinch at Dean's Drive-In, where his sister, Robin Landreth, is the owner.
"He was a super individual," Porter said.
"If you needed something done, you called Jay," Sobotta added. "He will be sorely missed. He was a staple in our community."
Drew Lawson is the former managing editor of the Davenport Times and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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