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L. J. Warren photo

Louis J. Warren

Louis J. Warren, an expert in corporate law, led prison reform and humanitarian improvements in the Territory of Hawaiʻi. He was a trustee for Liliʻuokalani Trust from 1929 to 1934.

Louis J. Warren was born on June 9, 1877, in San Francisco to the Rev. John B. Warren and Caroline M. Schafer.

He attended the University of California and trained in the office of attorney Edward J. Pringle, before moving to Hawaiʻi. In 1900, he worked with Honolulu attorney William O. Smith and eventually became his co-partner in a law firm. 

On Aug. 4, 1902, he married Elizabeth E. Parrish, and they had a daughter, Winifred. Elizabeth passed away in 1907, and he wed Sara B. Eynon in 1909.

Throughout his life, he advocated for prison reform and improved humanitarian conditions in Hawaiʻi. In June 1910, he served as chairman of the Insanity Commissioners for the Territory and was appointed a Board Member of the Prison Inspectors in 1929, becoming Chairman in 1931.

The board, established by the Legislature in 1910, managed prisons and prison camps in the Territory of Hawaiʻi. Under his leadership, the board regularly inspected prison facilities and provided solutions to improve living conditions.

He resigned from the prison board in 1933 and continued as a partner in the firm Smith, Warren, Stanley and Vitousek.

He was a member of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, the Bar Association of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu Country Club and the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, of which he was chief legal counsel. He also was an avid collector of rare Hawaiian stamps.  

As a trustee of Liliʻuokalani Trust, he petitioned to eliminate institutions as a method for caring for orphaned and destitute children. He and co-trustees advocated for new solutions, including placing children in foster homes and boarding schools, where children received personalized care.

He died on Dec. 28, 1834, in Beverly Hills, Calif., after returning from a visit with his daughter, who lived on the East Coast.