Warrick Ranches
1960 to Present
Gudrun Stark and Bob Warrick. Erlangen Germany 1963.
Gudrun C. Stark & Robert H. Warrick were married in Erlangen, Germany in1963. Gudrun was an elementary school teacher in Germany and finished her contract before immigrating to the United States. She had a degree from the University in Erlangen, but later obtained advanced degrees, including a Master’s Degree in Education and library science from Wayne State College in Nebraska. She taught school and ran the library in the Battle Creek Public School system before retiring after 36 years.
The Warrick family home.
The family home was built by John Wesley Warrick in 1903. Robert and Gudrun Warrick lived here with their family until they retired to Oceanside, California in 2003.
Jan Warrick McMullen & Andy McMullen
Jan Warrick McMullen and husband Andy live in Stella, NE. They have three children: Rick, John and Suzy. Janet, the only daughter of J.W. Warrick II, was born in 1937, grew up in Meadow Grove, graduated from high school there and attended St, Charles Women's College in St, Charles, MO. She then attended the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1959. She married Andrew McMullen in 1960. Jan lives in Stella, NE where Andy and his father owned the Stella bank. Andy retired from banking in 1992.
Rick, their oldest son graduated from the United States Naval Academy, became a Navy pilot and flew off an aircraft carrier during the First Gulf War. He now works and flies for FedEx. He and his wife Alex live on a family farm near Stella, NE. When Rick first flew for FedEx, he flew out of Subic Bay in the Philippines and then out of Hong Kong. Now he flies out of Kansas City as a Captain for FedEx.
John lives in Colorado. He graduated from Yale University and the law school at Tulane University. He joined the Navy, where he worked in the Navy's Judge Advocate branch. After leaving the Navy he owned a organic farm and taught school in WI. He now teaches in Colorado, has a son who is an officer in the Marine Corp. and a daughter at the University of Colorado, who will also be a member of the Marine Corp upon graduation.
Daughter Suzy lives in Lincoln, NE with her husband John Bruning and daughter Aubry. She graduated from Wellesley College and is a hospital radiologist at Bergin Mercy Hospital in Lincoln, NE. Her husband runs a tour company in Lincoln.
Jean Warrick and John Westley Warrick III
John, Wesley Warrick III (Jack) and wife Jean Warrick lived in Meadow Grove. Jack passed away in 2018. Jean still lives in Meadow Grove in their home.
J. W. Warrick III (Jack) ran the lumber yard and supply in Meadow Grove until he retired in 2015. He also worked in the grain business and helped his father build the grain storage buildings. When the railroad left in 1970 the
grain storage business changed. Farmers started building their own storage facilities and buying grain trucks to haul grain to local terminals which still had railroads.
Jack was born in 1932. He graduated from the University of Nebraska, followed by service in the military. He was a
"Go Big Red" fan of the University of Nebraska's football team. He and Jean had season tickets for the games for many years. Jean still has the tickets and lets her grandchildren and friends use them.
Jack was an avid duck hunter and loved his Labrador retrievers. He always had a duck blind on the river or pond next to the Elkhorn River and went to the blind every day before opening the hardware store and lumber yard.
Jean Warrick Hansen, daughter of Vera and Roy Hansen. Jean was born 1932 in Oakland, NE. She graduated from Oakland H. S. and Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE. She taught in Meadow Grove and Elkhorn Valley, Tilden for 31 years.
Jean and Jack have two children, Douglas (Doug), and Debra (Deb). Doug graduated from the University of Nebraska, got his Master's Degree from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology at Coos Bay and his PHD from the University of Montana. He teaches biology at the Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. Doug is married to Wendy and they have a son Andy, a student at Oregon State University. Doug likes to come to Meadow Grove and help his mother Jean keep her home well maintained. He also loves the pasture in Pierce county and, as a biologist, appreciates the diversity and wildlife there.
Debra Kirchner, Jean and Jack's daughter, is also a graduate of the University of Nebraska. She is a interior designer and a real estate agent and lives in Elkhorn, Nebraska. Her son Michael lives in Omaha and has three children. Michael loves to visit his grandmother Jean and hunt pheasants in the Meadow Grove area.
Bob's wife Gudrun, jumping with her horse Ali in Germany. Her father Eric Stark, a former cavalry officer and history teacher, continued riding as a hobby after the war.
Bob Warrick and his pet pig at a political rally in Lincoln NE.
Bob was a strong supporter of family farming. This rally on the steps of the Capitol in Lincoln, NE in 1992 was in support of family farm legislation and to ban large corporate farming. Bob regularly went to Lincoln and Washington D. C. to lobby on conservation and environmental issues.
He was involved in the writing and passing the conservation section of the 1985 Farm Bill. He helped in passing a ban on corporate farming in Nebraska and was involved in defeating the damming of the Niobrara River, creating a protected "Wild & Scenic River" instead.
Robert and wife Gudrun have two sons, Steven & Thomas.
Robert is president of Warrick & Sons, a Nebraska family corporation formed in 1961. He farmed and ranched in Nebraska starting in 1959 until he and Gudrun retired to California in 2003. Robert Warrick had two horses Sham & Norman, who loved to move cattle to pasture as much as Robert did, plus a Blue Healer, who probably loved cattle drives the most.
This letter is from Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Peter Meyer in recognition of the work Robert Warrick did in the 1985 Farm Bill. Peter Meyer brought then President Reagan along to support and sign this farm bill, which had a major conservation section. Peter Meyer was a wonderful person to work with on the bill, according to Robert.
Robert Warrick on his Arabian gelding “Sham” moving cattle from pasture through Meadow Grove to wintering facilities at a farm west of Meadow Grove. In spring he moves them back to pasture. Each trip takes a total of three days.
Bob and Gudrun with Grandchildren 2012.
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WARRICK& SONS
Robert and Gudrun's family. Stephen, Thomas, Gudrun and Robert 1980.
Stephen Warrick is a technical writer for Thermo Fisher Scientific with offices and research facilities in Carlsbad, CA. He grew up in Nebraska and helped his father Robert on the ranch. He received a scholarship to Stanford University and graduated with degrees in English and biology. He obtained a masters degree in English from the University of Virginia and married his college sweetheart Shelley Spisak, also a graduate of Stanford. They lived a few years on the East Coast. While there his wife worked and received her advance degree from John Hopkins University and then worked for the Federal Government at the Department of Health and Human Services. They both moved back to the west coast to be closer to Shelley's family. Steve worked in the Bay area for a biotech firm for a few years before the family moved to Escondido, CA. They raised three children, Anna, Jake and Sam. Both Shelly and Steve have jobs in the biotech industry.
Gudrun and Robert came to California so they could watch the grandchildren grow. And grow they did! Both boys over 6". Anna has a degree from Occidental College, Jake graduated from Rice University and Sam received his electrical engineering degree from Portland University. Jake is pursuing his PHD in physics at UC San Diego, Anna is employed at UCLA and Sam is starting a new job in Portland, OR at INTEL.
Tom Warrick is a Spanish teacher in a large high school in Denton TX. He and his wife Emily graduated from Carlton College in Northfield, MN. where he attended on a scholarship. After college Tom and Emily moved to Denton, Texas. Tom is our Latino expert and scholar. They have a daughter Charlotte who is a sophomore at Trinity University in Austin, TX and is the assistant principal viola in the Trinity University orchestra.
Tom was also great help on the farm and ranch, but his least favorite job was cleaning and bedding the hog facilities. Tom and Emily both live in Texas where most of Emily's relatives are from. Tom does return to Nebraska often as he made many friends in high school, who still live in Nebraska.
Gudrun and Robert Warrick are retired in Oceanside, CA, where both are active in church and interested in the history of early California. Gudrun is a docent at the Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores on the Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton. Robert established a Veterans Memorial Garden with native plants on Camp Pendleton. Both enjoy the cultural scene in and around the LA and San Diego area. They also enjoy hiking and Robert volunteers on State and Federal Park fire towers in the Palomar and Laguna mountains and forests.
Steve, Robert and Tom Warrick. at the 1921 July 29th Grazing Tour of the Warrick Pierce county pasture. Fifty people attended, mainly from Madison and Pierce county.
In front of the Warricks is a Fourpoint Evening Primrose. One of many wildflowers covering the pasture that summer day.
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2017 Family Reunion in Meadow Grove
Taken in 2017 at the Goody's Grill in Battle Creek, NE.
Left to Right
Jack (John Wesley Warrick III), Bob (Robert Warrick) & Jan (Janet Warrick McMullen) in front.
Jean, Jack's wife, Gudrun, Robert's wife and Andy, Jan's husband standing behind.
Back rows are grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jack, Robert and Janet. This was a family gathering for the purpose to meet and visit the site of the federal grazing project in Pierce County, which the Warrick & Sons Corporation is directing and implementing.
In 2012 the farm properties were divided between the three living Warricks. The buttons below will take you directly to a specific properties or you can go to the "Land" section to view everything.
Jack and Jean Warrick received the East Place and river pasture. The East Place is 120 acres with 40 acres of farm ground and pasture The rest is wetland meadow, cut for hay.
Robert Warrick and Jan McMullen (Warrick) received the West Place. The West Place includes a 130 acres pasture. The rest are trees and wildlife habitat. The east quarter has an irrigation pivot since 1973, farm buildings, feedlots and pasture. The west quarter is 40 acres of farm ground and native hay meadow. The the rest is pasture.
Warrick & Sons kept Section 7-25-3 in Pierce county, which is now part of a NRCS grazing demonstration program lasting years, 2018 - 2023.
Warrick & Sons, a Nebraska family corporation formed in 1961 with Robert Warrick, president, Jean Warrick, vice president and secretary Gudrun Warrick. Robert is still active in managing a federal EQUP grant on the pasture land.