Thomas Warren 

August 22, 2018

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Thomas L. Warren, 80, passed away on August 22, 2018. He was born in Evansville, IN, on August 29, 1937, to James and Ruth Warren. Tom and Mary Lee Hitch were married on August 17, 1963, and are the parents of two sons, Brian and Scott. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in English and Microbiology from the University of Evansville, two master’s degrees from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas. Tom taught at several locations, including Central Missouri State Residence Center, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the University of South Dakota at Springfield, and Oklahoma State University. Tom, one of the three founders of the field of technical communication, was a Society for Technical Communication Fellow and was the recipient of the STC Jay R. Gould Award for Excellence. He was also a Fellow in the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. During his career, he received a number of distinguished awards. In addition, Tom established the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. technical writing programs at OSU and was a past president of INTECOM. During his career, Tom published four books and more than 90 refereed articles as well as made more than 90 refereed presentations at conferences in the United States and Europe. He also was a frequent consultant, offering workshops to employees of a variety of companies and associations. In addition, Tom was a very active participant in the Masons organization both in South Dakota and Oklahoma. Tom is survived by his wife, Mary Lee, sons Brian and Scott (and life partner, Naomi Sauer), great granddaughter Serinity Novotny, and her grandparents, Bill and Donna Novotny. He is also survived by a sister-in-law, Lu Fulford, one brother-in-law, Jack Ost, and several nieces and nephews.