Warren Haviland

Warren Erwin Robert Haviland, Jr., passed away on August 30, 2025, at age 80 at his second home in Stillwater, Minnesota. During his short fight with pancreatic cancer, he was cared for with great love by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 2011.

Warren was born on May 5, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Warren Erwin Robert Haviland, Sr., and Van Buschart Haviland. With the exception of first grade, which was spent in Battle Creek, Michigan, while his father recovered from an injury obtained during the Korean War, Warren was raised in St. Louis. His three younger siblings, Randy Haviland, Mark Haviland, and Vannette "Pixie" Reed, and one nephew, Don Reed, Jr., predeceased him.

He attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and graduated in three years - not soon enough, according to him - in 1966. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1969. Shortly after graduation, he passed the Missouri bar exam and married his former wife, Betsy Haviland. They moved to San Diego in 1970 where he passed the California bar exam and he practiced for the entirety of his 49-year career. He and Betsy welcomed two children, Evan and Joy, as he continued to build his career.

Warren first found his footing practicing civil law in a law partnership with Milton Silverman and then later with David Goldin. He took on a few family law cases and found an area of law that called to him. From 1987 to 1995 he was a partner with Huntington & Haviland with Edward "Ned" Huntington, almost exclusively practicing family law. When Ned became a judge, Warren created a partnership with Ned's then-wife Marjorie Huntington, and he remained law partners with her until his retirement in 2018.

Warren was committed to both the elevation of the practice of law and to bringing less experienced attorneys along with him. In the 1980s he taught at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and continued to teach and mentor junior attorneys throughout his career. He was proud to be a Certified Family Law Specialist and a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He received the Michael C. Shea Award from the San Diego Family Law Bar Association in 2007, which is given each year to a family law attorney who has contributed their time to mentoring newer family law attorneys.

Warren was also a decades long member of the Rotary Club, having memberships, including service as its president, of the Old Mission Rotary for 40 years and then the Encinitas Coastal Rotary for 6 years. He gave generously of his energy, time, and heart. He and Karen also endowed a scholarship at Vanderbilt.

He had a diverse set of hobbies through which he built deep and lasting communities of friends in San Diego. He was an active athlete for all of his life, first as a triathlete, then exclusively focusing on swimming at the La Jolla Cove and at UCSD Masters Swimming. He loved golf, fly fishing, hunting, biking, music, and traveling, especially traveling to do any of those activities since he could not sit still. Warren also had a remarkable gift of humor, lifting the spirits of everyone around him.

Warren likened himself a "simple man," but the impact of his life on his family and friends is anything but simple. He was dearly loved by scores of those who knew him and he will be deeply missed. Warren is survived by his wife, Karen Heffron, of Cardiff, his son Evan, of San Diego, his daughter Joy, of San Leandro, her partner Brooke, and their children, Camila, Lucas, and Aila. He is also survived by Karen's siblings, Daniel, Kristin (Jerry), and Michael (Loree), and five nieces and a nephew, Becca (Chris), Kate (Darin), Alice (Reese), Ryan (Allie), Claire (Dylan), and Sophie (Ryan), together with many more, and much loved, extended family.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to causes Warren supported - all of the Community Services of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, https://www.standrewsepiscopal.org/give-1, or the Oncology Fund of Westfields Hospital & Clinic Foundation,

https://www.healthpartners.com/foundations/westfields/ - would be appreciated.

A memorial service is planned for October 11, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church at 890 Balour Drive, Encinitas, California followed by a reception. Another service is planned for October 28, 2025, at 4:00pm, at Domaćin Wine Bar, 102 2nd St. S., Stillwater, Minnesota.