A Great, One of A Kind Man ~ Warren Secord 81, a long time Rotary Club of Kent member and past Kent business owner, passed away Saturday, September 29, 2018. He was born on October 18, 1936 in Seattle.
In his youth he was known around the neighborhood for the kid that mowed all the lawns, had two paper routes and drove the tires off his car before he could drive.
Married to Barbara Stevens Secord for 36 years, they built a home on Spring Lake in Renton. Warren started his first automotive business S&S Valley Tire in Kent, Washington in February of 1965. He then became a member of the Rotary Club of Kent where he maintained perfect attendance for all 53 years of his membership.
Over those 53 years of being a Rotarian, he was a HUGE advocate for Vocational education, especially automotive. With Warren’s drive and persistence, he convinced the Kent and Tahoma School Districts to design automotive shops in all 5 of those high schools. He sat on the committee to assist both districts to complete and open those automotive shops.
In his 81 years, Warren was on many boards including National Tire Dealers, NW Tire Dealers Hall of Fame, Rotary Club of Kent President, Firestone Advisor Council and many others. He was involved in selling race tires with Parnelli Jones, Firestone, Goodyear, NASCAR NW Tour, SCCA, Cascade Club, NASCAR Truck Series, Drags and Pro Mazda. The racing was a HUGE piece of his life and his second family.
He is survived by his wife Jerre, sister Bonnie Treece (Keith), daughter Kim Walley (Brent), his beloved granddaughters Jordan Walley, Kendall Walley, his nephews Mark Stevens, Todd Stevens and his Rotary Club of Kent family.
Warren’s Celebration of Life
Saturday, January 5th, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 pm
Maple View Middle School (in the Commons)
18200 SE 240th St. Covington, WA 98042
Donations may be made to the following scholarship funds:
Warren Secord Automotive Scholarship (Green River College) wwww.greenrivercollegefoundation.org or mail to GRC Foundation 12401 SE 320th St Auburn, WA 98092.
Warren Secord Automotive Scholarship (Renton Technical College) https://rtc.edu/scholarship-donation
Please direct my donation To: People select “OTHER” In Memory of Warren Secord
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
