Promoted to Glory: Major Sam Warnock

Major Sam Warnock was Promoted to Glory on January 16, 2024, at the age of 82. 

Samuel Robert Warnock was born in Tulane, CA, on August 31, 1941, to parents Lawrence and Anna Warnock. He was the fourth of ten children. When Sam was just six years old his father was killed in an automobile accident. It was in those painful years following that The Salvation Army was very instrumental, getting their family settled and attending corps services. 

Sam loved football and wrestling while in school. He was also a lifeguard at camp. He was active in several high school activities, including the Honor Society and a men's quartet. He went on to college where he received his Associate of Science degree and then worked for the State Department of Agriculture as a peanut inspector. 

In January 1963, Sam enlisted in the U.S. Navy. In March of that year, he married the girl he called his first and only love, Mary. Sam served in the Navy until 1973, when he and Mary entered The Salvation Army's training college in Atlanta as members of the Soldiers of the Cross session of cadets. They were commissioned with the rank of lieutenant on June 8, 1975.

Their appointments as corps officers, until their honored retirement in 2005, were: Logan, Huntington, Charleston Citadel, and Fairmont, WV; Selma, and Birmingham Citadel, AL; Lake Charles, LA; Greenwood, MS; Alabaster, AL; and New Orleans Citadel, LA.

Major Sam Warnock is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Major Mary Warnock, and their children: Lawrence (Billy Hall) Warnock, Bobby (Kim) Warnock, and Phillip (Hallie) Warnock, as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Smith Family Funeral Home in Sapulpa, OK, on January 20, 2024. Committal will immediately follow the service. 

—Major Frank Duracher