Warren was an Idaho farm boy who could fix just about anything. He was born in 1948 to Parley Alexander Ririe and Edna Jane Cook. He spent his early years in Ririe, Idaho, a small town in eastern Idaho named after his grandfather, David Ririe, who established a small farm there in 1888 and influenced the railroad to make a stop there when the city was established in 1914. Warren's granddad built a large stone house there, which still stands today and has been restored and is lived in by Ririe posterity.

Warren was the youngest of five children. He was 20 years younger than his oldest siblings, and his nephews, who were near his age, became his playmates and buddies in mischief. His dad and uncle moved their families to Stevensville, Montana, when he was 7, and he helped on the dairy farm. He thought it was an ideal place to grow up. That is where he learned and discovered his love for fishing, sometimes from horseback in the middle of the creek. His family lived there until he was 9, and then they moved back to Ririe. He was a diligent student and loved sports, especially basketball and wrestling, but said he wasn't as good at those as he would have liked. He said he just wasn't built for it, having a shorter, stocky stature. He often remarked he was "6 feet tall from the waist up." He graduated from high school in 1966 and attended one semester at Ricks Academy. He then served a full-time mission in the Uruguay/Paraguay Mission, speaking Spanish.

After returning home, he attended Brigham Young University, where he met, dated, and married Dawn Bishop on April 1, 1971, in the Idaho Falls Temple. He worked at the BYU Dairy part-time, then transferred to Pocatello so they could live with his parents and afford to finish his bachelor's degree in conservation at Idaho State University. His oldest two children, Reagan and Morgan, were born there in Ririe. Warren then got his first job with the Forest Service, and the family moved to Leadore, ID. They lived there for 2 years and added a daughter named Fife to their family. Work then took them to Challis, ID, for about 10 years. Warren then applied to Michigan State University to earn his master's degree working with federal programs and policies in rangeland management. The Forest Service paid for this training. When they first arrived in Michigan, a stake president there heard that Warren and his colleague were from Idaho and had worked with potatoes. He offered them housing in exchange for trying to rescue his failing potato farm, which they succeeded in doing. After finishing this degree, his family moved back to Challis for a few years and then to Ogden, UT, for a job advancement opportunity. Warren and Dawn divorced at this point, and Reagan & Fife moved with Dawn to Oregon, while Morgan stayed with his dad and moved to Nampa, ID, in 1990, still working with the Forest Service.

Warren loved music, and he loved to sing. He joined a single adult choir, where he often performed special parts, one of which was playing Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. It was at that choir that he met Sharolyn, who was a young single schoolteacher with four children ages 12-18. After one date their courtship began long-distance through letters since Warren was working on assignment for the Forest Service for six months in Washington, D.C. When he came back home, they decided they wanted to try to create an eternal family but knew that step-parenting is no easy task. Most of their dating after that became making dinner, helping with homework, and doing family activities with Sharolyn's children to see just how good a team they might make. They married in June 1994 and would both say they were prompted through some of the most spiritual experiences of their lives to adopt & bring four beautiful daughters home from China over the course of the next 7 years. Warren was sentimental. He loved to read and write poetry and often cried over inspirational movies and experiences. He also loved gardening and hunting and fishing and was an avid reader of novels, especially sci-fi stories.

Over nearly 50 years of his career in forestry, he developed a reputation for being dependable, hardworking, and good at mediation. He won awards for his skills in many different areas. He worked mostly in range management for the Forest Service, and he was lovingly referred to by his coworkers as "Yoda" for being short, stout, and wise.

He loved the gospel and served in many different callings; one of his favorites, and one in which he served several different times, was teaching Gospel Doctrine. He was a very influential teacher. He loved the Lord and devoted his life to trying to follow His teachings.

Warren was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and began a valiant fight to stay with his family as long as he could. He died at home with many of his family members surrounding him and expressing their love and gratitude for his devoted and loving care.

We look forward to spending the rest of eternity with him.

Warren is preceded in death by his parents, Parley & Edna Ririe; two sisters, Marilyn (Daniel) Tyler and LaWan (Francis) Marler; and a brother-in-law, Kenny Stromberg.

Warren is survived by his wife, Sharolyn; his children, Reagan Ririe, Morgan (Tonya) Ririe, Fife Ririe (Lucas Crawford), Aaron (Teena) Steele, Lance (Kirsten) Steele, Caleb (Stephanie) Steele, Lindsay (Jacob) Hendricks, Lora (Brogan) Barr, Cami (Eduardo) Santamaria, Shanae Ririe & Lynea (Weston) McCombs; 31 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Sylvan (Jo) Ririe and sister Delaina Stromberg.