Monday, January 8, 2024
I first met Warren circa 1970 when he bought some very handsome billboards when running for the PCs against the incumbent Liberal Don MacDonald, who was also a well liked Finance Minister. Warren was very proud of almost winning, and I was very proud of ‘my’ billboards which I credited with his good performance at the poles - ha.
Warren was always very enthusiastic about everything, so we had a lot in common in that regard, and few other things; both graduated from Engineering in 1961, both members of RCYC, both bridge Life Masters (we partnered occasionally in regional tournaments and at Kate Buckman’s), and I just learned he managed to depart this world on December 15, my 84th birthday.
Oh, and I participated happily in a number of his investment opportunities as Warren was a great salesman, and he made these interludes so exciting that I never minded losing a bit of money. And frankly some were great ideas, just a few years ahead of their time. For example he was a principal part of a public company manufacturing and selling electric cars in Quebec 15 years before Elon Musk got started (and they just couldn’t get Canadian municipalities to change their laws quickly enough to allow them on city streets). His payment system was a sophisticated version of the blockchain 15 years before anyone knew what that was, and now it's revolutionizing things in finance.
Finally we had some great times together with Shirley and Marie-Paul. RIP Warren.
Peter Gallop
