Warren Frakes, from the age of six, had many chores on his family farm: milking the cows, feeding the horses and chickens, and slopping the pigs. He had his hours of fun, such as swimming in the ponds on the farm, rabbit hunting with his slingshot and his faithful dog, gathering pecans that grew wild by the creek, and riding horses.

He attended a one-room country schoolhouse until 1922, when he and his family moved to California in search of a better climate and better schools. He always managed to find jobs, such as carrying papers and picking fruits and vegetables. Due to the big 1929 Depression, Warren quit his junior year in high school to work and help his family.

In the early 1930s, the country was gung-ho for boxing, and if one was good at it, the pay was good. Warren started boxing in a makeshift ring at an old ballfield. A past manager of Jack Dempsey, called Windy Winsor, saw Warren box and started managing him. He had a few bouts as a welterweight, but had trouble maintaining that weight and went back to lightweight and won many fights. His ring name was "Cyclone" Frakes. For some reason, he started drinking. As his sister, I knew him quite well, and I attribute that downfall in his life as a breakup in a love affair, and possibly trying to live up to the expectations that fame had brought him.

After his days of boxing were over, he became a worker on big dams, working on the Boulder Dam, Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, and many others. During World War II, Warren served in combat and was injured by an exploding shell. Ten men in his outfit with him were killed. Warren was thrown some 20 feet into the air, but survived. While in the Army hospital, doctors discovered he had been shook up inside. When he was able, he was sent to the Panama Canal, where he guarded the canal. He was given an honorable discharge, and received a pension for several years until his body tested free of any injuries caused by the bomb.

He finally found his true love and married. They had one daughter that Warren adored. For years, he doted on his nieces and nephews, for Warren loved kids and pets. He went to work at Chrysler in the Los Angeles area. He was foreman of the car painters and an expert at car painting. One day, while on the line of cars, a huge bucket of heavy material was about to crush a worker. Warren grabbed the bucket and held it until the man could escape. In doing this deed, Warren's back was injured badly and Chrysler called in top specialists. They discovered his muscles in his back had held up so well, that the nerves were not separated and they bridged back. They said that if Warren had not had the physical training he had had, the muscles would not have held, the nerves would have been severed, and he would have been paralyzed.

Warren worked for Chrysler until his retirement, and as a hobby, grew beautiful flowers and choice vegetables and fruits. He passed away of natural, old age causes at the age of 89.