BIOGRAPHY

Warmington was born in Morristown, New Jersey on 18 September 1895 as the third son of his father and his mother, Jenny. His father tended the estates of the rich, while his mother was a cook, and raised him and his brothers alone following the death of his father, when Warmington was five years old. He had a younger brother, who died in infancy.

Warmington was drafted into World War I but was disqualified from service due to being, in his words, physically unfit. His fiancée, a teacher, died suddenly. He then formed a relationship with his childhood friend and former neighbour, Cora Ayers, whose doctor fiancé had also died suddenly. The couple were married for 60 years until his wife’s death aged 85.

From the age of 14, Warmington had worked as a plumber, a profession that he would stay in for 61 years until his retirement. In the mid-1920s, he joined the Masons, and in 1927, he co-founded the Fairchild Fire Company. His daughter Phyllis was born around 1922.

Warmington and his wife built their eight-roomed home themselves, with help from his father-in-law who did the construction. He grew tomato plants, often as many as 50 simultaneously during his centenarian years.

Warmington died on 11 January 2006 at the age of 110 years, 115 days. He was survived by his daughter, a grandson, and two nephews.

RECOGNITION

It is, as of May 2024, unclear when Warmington became New Jersey’s oldest living man, but following his death, the title passed to Walter Seward, then aged 109.

Warmington’s age was verified by Robert Young and validated by the GRG on 29 September 2005.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY