Warren E. Dawson

Warren Edwin Dawson passed away quietly December 4, 2020 at his home in Goleta, California. Warren, and his twin brother, Wallace, were born November 16, 1929 in San Jose, CA to Katherine (Ribisi) and Millard Dawson, to become new members of the large Italian Ribisi family who immigrated to California from Marineo, Sicily. Warren and Wallace spent a large portion of their childhood on ranches in the Brentwood and San Jose area before moving to Paso Robles and finally settling in Santa Barbara, where they graduated from Santa Barbara High School. Warren was active in high school as a member of the track and field team and the ROTC. Warren was preceded in death by Wallace (in the Korean War), and by his daughter Debra Lee Bryden. He is survived by family members, sons Todd (wife Stefania) of Berkeley, CA, and Greg (wife Elizabeth) of Orange, CA, grandsons Cody Dawson of Paso Robles, CA, and Josh Bryden of Diamond Springs, CA, great-grandchildren Lily Grace Bryden and Logan Thomas Bryden, and former wife Patricia Lea Dawson of Santa Barbara.

Directly out of high school, Warren went to work for General Telephone, where he met and then married his wife Pat in 1952. He then worked in construction for DaRas Construction Company of Santa Barbara before joining the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department, where he began a 31-year-long career with the fire service at UC Santa Barbara (Captain). He eventually joined the Santa Barbara County Fire Department as a Station Captain in Goleta and the Santa Ynez Valley, and later as a Fire Inspector and Arson Investigator based at the main headquarters in Santa Barbara.

Warren learned to fly airplanes while still in high school – a hobby he continued throughout his life. He was also an avid cowboy who owned horses and eventually worked the “annual ride” with the Rancheros Visitadores for many years, where he started some of his best friendships. He loved Western Art and the lifestyle it captured, and was a lifetime supporter of wildlife conservation, wildland protection and stewardship, and America’s First Nations (Native American) organizations.

Warren was a military vet of the Korean War and a long-term member of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the BPOE “Elks” Club. Later in his life, “traveling” became his passion, whether to the mountain areas of the western US, Alaska, Mexico, Central and South America, Australia, Africa, or to Italy.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests your donation to your favorite charity. Rest in peace, Warren.