World War II veteran and longtime U.S. Steel executive
Jan. 9, 1926 - Jan. 7, 2020
The Greatest Generation couldn’t ask for a better representative than Warren Renner.
The longtime U.S. Steel executive and World War II veteran went from an underweight teenager champing at the bit to serve his country to becoming a decorated soldier, gentleman and beloved patriarch.
“He was funny, sweet and old-fashioned. He always opened car doors for me,” said his daughter Valerie Allridge, of Oakton, Va. “He was the heart of our family and I don’t think he looked back on his life with any regret.”
Mr. Renner died in his sleep on Jan. 7, just two days shy of his 94th birthday, at the San Clemente, Calif., home he moved into several years ago.
The Beaver County native could barely wait to join his older brother in the Army after he graduated from Monaca High School in 1943.
“He was only 17 when he graduated, and he couldn’t join the Army until the following year, so he did a semester at Geneva College while he was waiting,” his daughter said. “At his physical, he was only 104 pounds so they told him he didn’t have to go, but he was determined.”
A technical sergeant in the 67th Armored Regiment of the Second Armored Division — known by its motto “Hell on Wheels” — Mr. Renner was at first attached to a chemical warfare unit due to the three credits of college chemistry that he’d earned.
“They had to be exposed to everything in training, including mustard gas, so they would know what it was,” Mrs. Allridge said.
Mr. Renner fought throughout France, Germany and Belgium, and his unit was part of Operation Dragoon — the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944.
He and his unit were among the first American troops to occupy Berlin and they served as honor guard for the Potsdam Conference in 1945, Mrs. Allridge said.
Her father, who was later awarded the Bronze Star, came back with some harrowing stories, she said.
“He was in Hitler’s bunker and saw the bloodstains still on the sofa,” where Hitler and his wife Eva Braun killed themselves in April 1945, she said. “I know that he saw atrocities. He was old-school — he never told my mother or me but I think he told my brothers at some point, because I just think he wanted someone to know.”
After the fighting, Mr. Renner was offered engineering classes at the Wharton Technical School in Blackpool, England, and graduated as a distinguished alumnus before rejoining his unit to return to the U.S. in 1946.
During the trip back to his unit in Marseilles, France, Mr. Renner noticed that he was alone in a train carriage, while many others were crammed together in an adjoining car.
“He waved them to come join him but they wouldn’t,” his daughter said. “The French had such deference for any American troops — it was their way of showing respect.”
After the war, Mr. Renner returned to his studies, earning a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Geneva College in 1948.
And, he reconnected with his high school sweetheart Doris Cushnen, who he married in 1947. Mrs. Renner died 12 years ago.
“They wrote every single day to each other during the war,” his daughter said. “They had the greatest love story. They were amazing partners and really had something special. We all learned a lot just from watching them.”
Mr. Renner started working at the American Bridge division of U.S. Steel as a time study engineer in 1948. Over the next 36 years, he rose through the ranks to become assistant comptroller at U.S. Steel, vice president of fabrication and construction, and eventually senior vice president of corporate strategic planning.
He and several other executives took early retirement in 1984 after a major corporate restructuring closed six plants and eliminated more than 15,000 jobs.
“He decided that was the thing to do, and I don’t think he ever regretted a minute taking early retirement, because he got to spend more time with his wife and kids,” his daughter said.
After retirement, Mr. Renner became a consultant, assisting startup businesses.
“He liked to help people who came to him with ideas about starting up businesses and he was able to lend whatever expertise he could,” she said.
Mr. Renner and his wife bought a house in Ross in 1964, where he lived until moving to California to be closer to his family in recent years. Despite his busy work schedule, Mr. Renner was a devoted father, Mrs. Allridge said.
“He loved family picnics and he never missed a band concert, a football game, or a baseball game,” she said. “He was always there and he taught us how to handle ourselves and how to listen.”
Along with his daughter, Mr. Renner is survived by his sons Brian, of Piedmont, Calif., and Bruce, of San Clemente, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Simons Funeral Home, 7720 Perry Highway, in Ross. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, 1000 Avila Court, Ross.