Susan Jean Warren

Susan Jean Warren, 64, a native of Houston, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, December 27th, 2023 at 5:30 pm. For 6 stoic months, she lived with metastatic breast cancer that ultimately ended her life.

Susan was born on July 28th, 1959, to David R. “Jack” Warren Sr. and Dorothy Jean “Jeanie” Warren in Houston, Texas. She grew up with her 7 siblings and parents in a 900 sq. ft. home south of Pasadena. From an early age, she was known as particularly self motivated and driven. Her father nurtured in her a shared passion for reading and writing, which instilled a lifelong ambition to become a journalist for a major newspaper. In 1978 she graduated from South Houston High School and went on to the University of Houston where she was the only student at that time to be elected Editor of the school newspaper, “The Daily Cougar '', for two consecutive years. She graduated with a Bachelors in Communications from the University of Houston in 1984, and had secured her first journalist position at the Houston Chronicle before the end of her senior year. From 1992-1993, she bolstered her journalism chops at Oxford University as a Reuter’s Fellow, which she often reflected on as an invaluable life experience.

In the coming years, her journalism career flourished, and she moved on to serve for 15 years as a journalist, editor, and bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Tony Hartin, and her two daughters, Christina and Amy. She met her husband, Tony, in 1999, at a local coffee shop in Houston. He was currently an architect working in Houston, but soon moved to join her in Dallas with her two young daughters. In their marriage, he became and remains the indispensable partner, father, and friend.

During her years at the Journal, she became known for her talent at writing “A-heds”, or short pieces that often feature humorous or quirky subjects. One of these A-heds garnered the attention of a publishing agency, and eventually became the topic of her first book, “Backyard Giants: the Passionate, Glorious, and Heartbreaking Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever”. She later became editor and bureau chief of Bloomberg News in Dallas, where she ended her career as an editor in their Opinion Sector from 2020-2023. At the end of her life, she was content with all that she had achieved, and she made her younger self and her family very proud. The stories of her travels and adventures throughout her career provided endless fascination for her daughters, who always looked up to her passion and work ethic.

Outside of her work, Susan focused on her favorite pastime, gardening, and her family life. She poured her effort into creating beautiful and thriving gardens in her backyard. These projects carried her through many difficult times in her life, and she always felt that all of life’s mysteries, joys and sorrows could be reckoned with in the garden. She was known in her community to be a kind and generous person, who loved her family dearly. She was often seen walking through her neighborhood, as for the better part of 30 years, Susan spent nearly every evening and weekend morning on a long walk with her husband and daughters. She loved to engage in deep conversation, often sprinkled with moments of levity brought on by her unique humor.

She planned to continue her passions in retirement on a rural property in Manvel, Texas, that she acquired when she was 17 years old. The trees she planted in those early years now shade a beautiful 2 acres that would hold her future home. Her husband Tony, an Architect, brought these dreams to reality when they broke ground in early 2023 on the house they designed together for their later years. This house became a beacon of hope and peace as she underwent cancer treatment in the latter half of 2023, and it was completed in time for her to live out her last days where she always meant to return. This house will remain as a monument to future generations of her great love, fortitude, and resilience that were hallmarks of her life on Earth.

Susan is predeceased by her mother Jeanie, father Jack, and little sister Laurie. She is survived by her husband, Tony Hartin, and two daughters, Christina Payne and Amy Payne, as well as her six surviving siblings. She will be dearly missed.