Owner and son of Walter’s Hot Dogs namesake, Eugene Warrington, died on Saturday, August 26, surrounded by family and loved ones. He was 95.
Warrington was born to Mamaroneck residents Walter and Rose Warrington in 1922, attended Holy Trinity School, and was Vice President of his class at Mamaroneck High School, where he was also a Hall of Fame athlete.
Warrington served with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, before returning home to the family business his parents had established in 1919. Eugene took over Walter’s Hot Dogs several years later.
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Walter’s Hot Dogs saw rapid expansion since 2013, including two food trucks and new locations in White Plains and Stamford, CT. The landmark food stand will be closed for a period of mourning through Thursday, August 31.
A proud, lifelong Mamaroneck resident, Warrington was a member of the Knights of Columbus, American Legion, rotary club, Lions Club, and the Mamaroneck Historical Society. He was also a president of the Old Timers’ Athletic Association, a Republican Party District Leader, and most recently had been honored with a lifetime achievement award by Hook and Ladder Co. #1 for 71 years as a volunteer firefighter, in which fire companies from Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, and Fairfield counties attended, causing lengthy traffic jams as dozens of emergency response vehicles lined the street to pay their respects.
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“It’s been incredible to see the memorial that’s happened at the stand with the flowers people have been bringing and the pictures. The outpouring has been overwhelming,” said Gene-Christian Baca, Head of Business & Product Development at Walter’s Hot Dogs and Warrington’s grandson.
“He was such a juggernaut in the community. He’d never say no to anybody: Whatever he could do he would do it. Everyone came before him.”
Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum took to Facebook on Saturday, saying, “Gene was and will continue to always be an icon of the spirit and essence of our ‘Friendly Village.’ Eugene Warrington is the ultimate example of community volunteering and commitment to others.”
Warrington is survived by his wife Gloria — with whom he would have shared their 70th anniversary this November — daughters Christine and Jeanne; grandchildren Elisabeth, Christine, Gene-Christian, Sabrina, Katharine, and Natalie; and great-granddaughter, Ashley Grace.
Family and friends are invited to attend the wake for Warrington on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Coxe and Graziano Funeral Home in Mamaroneck, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Warrington will be entombed Thursday at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, following funeral mass at St. John and Paul Church.
