FAYETTEVILLE - Charles Elton Warren Sr., 93, of Fayetteville, died Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, in Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. He had been in failing health for several weeks. Mr. Warren was born Sept. 5, 1917, in Sampson County, to Willie Ennis Warren and Cleone McLamb Warren. He was raised on a farm, graduated from Herring High School in Clinton and attended North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University). He settled in Fayetteville in 1936, working at Jernigan Funeral Home in Fayetteville for his uncle and aunt, Joe Jernigan and Flossie McLamb Jernigan. The firm eventually became Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home and grew, under Mr. Warren's oversight and ownership, into one of Fayetteville's most significant businesses. Mr. Warren was a graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science in Nashville, Tenn., where he was valedictorian of his class. At the time of his death, Mr. Warren was a long-standing member of the Methodist University board of trustees, and served for many years on the First Citizens Bank board of directors. He was a former president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the Junior Chamber of Commerce; former chairman of the Fayetteville chapter of the American Red Cross and of the Tuberculosis Association; former chairman of the Braxton Bragg Chapter of the Association of the United States Army and of the Army Advisory Commission; and past president of the North Carolina Funeral Directors Association. He was a Mason and a Shriner, and for many years a member of Highland Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon. Affectionately known as "Charlie" to many Fayetteville citizens over many years, Mr. Warren was loved for his sociability, considerateness and public spiritedness. In earlier years, he was involved with his family in showing Tennessee Walking Horses and won second place in a national competition for amateur riders. Later, he loved golf and made many friends playing the game. He was always an ardent sports fan. Over the years, he loved traveling with his wife, Lucille, in China, Africa and Europe. Mr. Warren's survivors include his wife of 68 years, Lucille McMillan Warren; his son, Charles Warren Jr. and wife Katherine Kimball of Boston; his daughter, Lucy Chambers and husband Robert of Durham; his brother, Harold Warren of Fayetteville; his sister, Sue Sinclair of Clinton; and his grandchildren, Charles Bennett, Cameron McMillan and Margaret Warren Chambers. Services will be held at 2 p.m. today, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010, at Highland Presbyterian Church, officiated by Dr. Ernest Johnson and Dr. Doc Wyle. Burial will follow in Lafayette Memorial Park on Ramsey Street. The family received friends Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Highland Presbyterian Church or to one's chosen charity. Services entrusted to Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home of Fayetteville.