Warren Jay Kreml

Warren Jay Kreml wanted to be a scientist until as a young Navy man, he had a liberty day in Nagasaki, Japan, and saw the devastation of the atomic bombing. On that day he decided to become a minister, according to his daughter, Marilee Kreml of Santa Rosa.

“He heard God say, ‘Your ways are not my ways,'” she said.

Warren Kreml died Oct. 29 after suffering a stroke. He was 84.

Born March 15, 1925, in Illinois, Warren was the eldest of Vera and Eugene Kreml's three sons. The family moved west to the Los Angeles area when Kreml was a teenager.

After graduating high school, Kreml joined the United States Navy and was soon in the Pacific Theater during World War II as a radio technician.

Kreml spent four years in the Navy, Marilee Kreml said.

“One time, they had been out for six months training and came back to Pearl (Harbor) and there were milk cans on there and everyone said ‘Oh, fresh milk!' He took a drink as was ‘Ugh.' It was buttermilk,” Marilee Kreml said.

Kreml had long wanted to be a scientist, but that changed when he saw first-hand the devastation to Nagasaki, Marilee Kreml said. “He tried to find something that was human-made and he could only find something about the size of a quarter. It was (part of a) teapot.”

Kreml spent the rest of his life traveling around the United States, working in United Church of Christ ministries and focusing on community building, Marilee Kreml said.

In Nebraska, Kreml and his wife, Anne Lee Kreml, became the first Church of Christ married pair to become associate conference ministers in Nebraska.

“It was the first time that was ever done within the (United Church of Christ),” Marilee Kreml said.

The Kremls raised their children with a bent toward social justice and eye toward fun, Marilee Kreml said.

“He always looked for the joy in life. He always let us explore and was constantly teaching us gardening and home maintenance and repair,” she said. “He always had a smile on his face, was always looking for fun and ways to have fun. Even when we were lost in the car, it wasn't that we were lost, it was that we were on an adventure — that was the kind of attitude that he took toward life.”

After retiring from the church, Kreml moved to Santa Rosa in 1996. The Kreml's stayed in Sonoma County for about five years before moving to Greeley, Colo. to be closer to grandchildren.

The Kremls returned to Santa Rosa a little more than a year ago, Marilee Kreml said.

In addition to his wife and daughter, both of Santa Rosa, Warren Kreml is survived by son Christopher Kreml of Winter Haven, FL.; daughter Deanne Burkett of Hillsdale, WY.; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at United Church of Christ, 2000 Humboldt St. in Santa Rosa.

Memorial donations may be made to the United Church of Christ.