Dudley A Warner

Dudley “Duke” Arkell Warner, Jr. was born on May 20, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA to Dudley A. Warner and Dorothy French Kilgore. He was raised in Hollywood, CA and attended Black-Foxe Military Institute, then Occidental College where he met his future bride, Tamara Wenzel of Mexico City.  They met in college, were married in 1961 and had three children. They made their home in Glendale, CA and then Claremont, CA for 44 years before a final move to Prescott, AZ in 2019. In 1961, Dudley joined the California National Guard and, on active duty, he served in the US Army retiring with a rank of Major.  In 1975 he attended the Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.   During his Military career he also held oversight of Area 5 National Guard Armories in the State of California. Upon retirement he completed a Master’s degree program at the University of La Verne. Then, pursuing a lifelong passion in shooting sports, he graduated from the gunsmithing program at Lassen Community College and began his business as Duke Gunsmithing. He was an avid reader, enjoyed photography and cartography, and after his retirement he and his wife traveled often and visited many countries across the globe, lugging numerous maps and carrying his 40 lb camera bag wherever they went.    
Dudley died on February 17, 2021 in Prescott, Az. due to complications of Alzheimer’s exacerbated by a recent case of coronavirus (COVID-19). He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Blaine Warner.  He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years and his three children, Margarita (Peggy)Warner- Burgess (Craig Burgess) of Mesa, AZ, Carlos Warner (Nohemi Gonzalez-Warner) of Fontana, California, and Tonya Shelton (Karl Shelton) of Ramona, California, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Memorial donations may be made in Dudley’s name to The Margaret T. Morris Care Center or Maggie’s Hospice.