Lewis Coy Warren

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 24, 2013, at First Central Presbyterian Church, 400 Orange Street, Abilene, with Dr. Clifford Stewart and Dr. Phil Christopher officiating, directed by Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory, Abilene.

He was born December 10, 1922, in Canyon, Texas. Shortly after his birth, his parents, Lewis Alfred Warren and Ruth Miles Warren, moved the family to Cisco, Texas.

From the time Coy was a young boy, he was fascinated with his father’s work in geology, and he began working on his dad’s Cable Tool Rig when he was a young teen. Coy attended the University of Texas at Austin on a football scholarship; however, his studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II. In February of 1943, Coy volunteered for the Army Air Corps and became a pilot on a B-25 Bomber with five members. He flew weather reconnaissance in the China-Burma-India Theater. Many of his missions were in the Bay of Bengal, Thailand, Burma and India, and quite often, he and his crew flew the “Hump” into China. By the end of his military career, Coy had earned the rank of First Lieutenant. When the war was over, he returned to his studies at the University of Texas at Austin and earned his B.S. degree in geology.

In May, 1944, Coy married Alice Slicker. They had one daughter, Connie, before Alice’s death in 1959 due to cancer. In the early 1950’s, Coy moved his family to Abilene, Texas where he and his father, L.A., formed LACO Oil Company. They continued to work together until L.A.’s death in 1971. As a team, Coy was the exploration geologist, and his father, L.A. found the investors.

In 1968, Coy met Elizabeth Gene King on a blind date. After dating barely four months, they married July 1, 1968. They were married for over 42 years until Elizabeth Gene’s death in December, 2010.

Coy continued a lifetime of work in the oil and gas industry and was joined in the business by Elizabeth Gene’s son, Greg King, in 1979.

During Coy’s early adult life, he was an Elder in the First Christian Church of Abilene. However, after he and Elizabeth Gene married, he transferred his church membership to the First Central Presbyterian Church of Abilene where she had been a member all of her life. Coy was very generous to his family, charities, and his church. He and Elizabeth Gene were instrumental in founding and having the columbarium built at the First Central Presbyterian Church and also donated a beautiful stained glass mosaic for the Chapel.

Coy was active in the community by serving on the board of Citizens National Bank and being a member of the Abilene Geological Society. He created and presented many slideshow presentations throughout the community promoting geology.

One of the accomplishments Coy was most proud of was his writing and publishing of three devotional books. Written in prose, these were testaments of Coy’s deep faith, and he happily gave them to people to use as they chose. Many Sunday School teachers used these inspiring devotionals in their classes and many family members keep them close and continue to read these touching stories.

Coy was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Golda Griggs; Connie’s mother, Alice Louise Slicker Warren; and his wife, Elizabeth Gene King Warren.

He is survived by his daughter and her husband, Connie Warren Stansell and Russ Stansell from Fort Worth; his two sons, Dr. Austin I. King and wife, Susan Lewis King; and Greg N. King and wife, Leigh Jacobs King; his nephew, Randy Randolph; and niece, Cathy Randolph, all from Abilene.

Coy was also blessed with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren: Helen King Stockstill and her sons, Austin and Blake, of Charlotte, NC; Quint Cannon and wife, Liz, of Atlanta, GA; Keathley King Roan and husband, Aaron, and their son, Hayes, of Abilene; Lewis King and wife, Heidi, and their daughter, Katy, of Watauga, TX; Mallory King Kulak and husband, Joshua, of Waco, TX; and Martha King of Austin, TX.

Memorials may be made to the donor's favorite charity.